


I just work here

by Katiep15



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Child Abuse, Eventual Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fuck trevor, Ian Gallagher and Mandy Milkovich are Best Friends, Insecure Mickey, Jealous Mickey Milkovich, M/M, Oblivious Ian, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Protective Mickey Milkovich, Stressed ian, Trevor starts trouble, helpful mickey, mickey and ian are best friends, pharmacy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-02-07 23:20:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12851703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katiep15/pseuds/Katiep15
Summary: Mickey and Ian were a couple in high school until they were forced to break up.  Instead of getting back together,  they chose to stay friends.  Years later, Ian became a pharmacist and got Mickey a job as a technician.  When Ian took over the independent pharmacy, he has Mickey by his side to turn the pharmacy around.  The more they work together, the more they become close and Mickey can't hide his feelings for Ian anymore





	1. Chapter 1

            Ian sat in his tiny office, discussing an medication with an regular customer, Mrs. Tisdale.  He tried to interject when Mrs. Tisdale would ask a question, but everytime he tries, she would continue to talk.  He gave up trying as he wiped his eyes and looked at the wall.

            When Ian first heard the pharmacy was for sale, he wanted to buy the store.  Dr Nigel was an important part in Ian’s life when he helped turn Ian's life around.  When Ian first started, he was a southside thug that stood with his best friend, Mickey.  Dr Nigel helped changed Ian’s life by giving him a job as a maintenance worker.  When Ian was on break, Dr Nigel showed him around the shop and taught him how to fill prescriptions.  With the doctor’s help, Ian graduated from medical school and got a job at the pharmacy.

Ten years later, Ian took over the pharmacy when his mentor retired and has turned the place around.  As soon as he took over, he put in a new floor since the old one had dirt stains, he rearranged the aisles to make the store look more open, and even brought in tastings in their liquor department.  Since he took over, the pharmacy and liquor department were rated number one in Chicago.  Though the store was in the southside, business was still going.

He looked down from his office to see his best friend, Mickey, working on a prescription.  Mickey was Ian’s best friend since they were in high school.  When they were in high school, they bullied many kids to earn the ruthless reputation and have stolen from other stores.  With Ian’s help, Dr Nigel took another chance for Mickey to hire him as a stockman.  When Ian went to medical school to become an pharmacist, he managed to talk Mickey to go to school but Mickey chose to get his license to become an pharmacy technician.  Since Mickey became a technician, the pharmacy has increased in customers and he became one of the best the business had.  And Mickey made sure the whole store knew that.  The only problem was Mickey didn’t bother to learn to talk to people so Ian always kept him either running prescriptions through insurances, or filling prescriptions.  Mickey made many enemies in the store, but nobody bothered to say anything because they knew Mickey and Ian were best friends.

When Mickey noticed Ian was watching him, he smirked. If the customers wouldn’t have seen it, he would’ve flipped Mickey off.  Ian knew Mickey had a low tolerance for idiot customers, especially the customers who told their life stories on repeat, so he liked sending the phone calls to the pharmacists.  Unfortunately, out of the three pharmacists on duty, Ian ended up picking up the phone.

When Ian finally got the chance to explain the problem with Mrs Tisdale’s prescription, he hung up and took a deep breath.  He could hear Mickey snickering at him as he pulled his red hair.  Ian got up to Mickey as Mickey laughed at the red head.

“’Become a pharmacist,’ they said.  ‘It’ll be fun,’ they said,” Ian stated.  “I swear, some of these customers make me wanna pull my hair out.  And I knew you did that on purpose.”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Mickey smirked.

“Really, that’s why I could hear you laughing while I was on the phone with her.”

“Hey, she asked to talk to the pharmacist and I did exactly what I was told.  Not my fault you’re so popular.”

“I also love the fact I have two other pharmacists on duty and they couldn’t pick up the phone.” Ian sighs. 

“I don’t understand how hard it is to pick up a phone.”

“That’s a bold statement coming from a guy that never answers it.” Ian chuckled as Mickey was still typing.

“I’m tech, I don’t have to answer the phone, especially to old ladies who are giving their personal narrative.” Ian nodded.

“But part of your job title is to answer the phones when the cashiers can’t.”

“And when the cashiers would stop gossiping like high school girls and actually work, I will answer the phone.”

“Mandy has been working.”

“Yeah, the only one.” Mickey scoffed.  “Minus me handing her papers from the printer, she never bothers me.”

“That’s because she’s a technician herself.  Why didn’t she renew her license?”

“Because she’s a dumbass.  She’s good at her job, but not bright when it comes to money.”

“And you thought it was a bad idea to hire your sister.”

“Mandy, I was being an ass for fun.  my brothers, I doubt that’s a good idea.”

“Yeah… Tony gave made me laugh when he tried to steal some alcohol and told me the distributor told him to have free beer.”

“That dumbass deserved to go to jail.  Who leaves a random box in the middle of the isle, then get into a fight with a customer who thought it was on sale.  That’s why that dumbass can stay in prison.”

 

Ian laughed as he stared at his best friend.  Over the years, Mickey’s siblings were trying to better themselves by making Mickey give them a job.  With Ian’s help, Mickey’s siblings managed to talk him into helping them.  The only person who took the offer seriously was Mandy.  When the pharmacy hired her, she was working on getting her license to become a technician.  The pharmacy was the perfect place for her to get experience as she took the classes.  Mickey always thought it was useless for technicians to take the classes when they learn more working than in a classroom. 

After Mandy became a tech, she decided she didn’t want to do it anymore and never renewed her license.  Mickey was pissed because he helped pay for her and Ian was disappointed that she wanted the pay cut.  Since then, Mandy decided to stay as a cashier until she figured out what she wanted to be.

As Mickey was working on a script, Mandy came over and extended her hand.

“Sorry, Miss, but we’re a pharmacy… Not a rug-n-Tug.”  Mickey said, pretending to be annoyed.

“I need you to get a paper from the printer, douche.”

“Who you callin’ a douche, cum sucker?”

“The bitch who won’t give me my paper,” Mandy said, as she extended her hand even closer.  She was trying to touch Mickey, but Mickey managed to back up, making it impossible. “Boss man, he won’t hand me the yearly reports for Mr. Cobain.  If you want, I can always send him down here to talk to you…”

 

Mickey rolled his eyes as he extended his hand to the printer next to him.  He shoved it down on the counter.  Mandy rolled her eyes as she reached for the repot, flipping Mickey off.

“What?  Don’t like talking to Mr. Cobain?” Mandy asked.

“Especially not him. That dumbass waits until he pays for a script to march his ass down here to complain about a script I did nothing wrong.”

“Well, you always had that bubbly personality…” Mandy said.

“Fuck off, don’t you have work to tend to?  Or the latest gossip columns?”

“You’re just mad because people here hate you.”

“hey, it’s not my fault Ian hires bitches.  If they’re going to act like babies, they sell binkies in aisle 16…”  Mandy rolled her eyes and walked away.  “That’s another thing, Ian, why did you hire such dipshits?  Like how the fuck do they still have a job?”

“I haven’t hired anybody since I took over.  Dr Nigel decided that.”

“Well, the next time somebody gets hired, I want to be in the room.  And I also want them to sing the alphabet.  I wanna hear them sing it loud and proud.”

“Well, I may do some spring cleaning.  I’m getting annoyed with people constantly on their phones.  Like a text message here and there is fine, but not watching Netflix when one person runs around to do all the work.”

“Right,” Mickey stated.  “Hey, we still on for tonight?”

“Pizza and football… Of fucking course.”

“I’ll bring the beer.”

“Ok, but not that Corona horse shit.  That’s watered down piss.”

“Kinky much…” Mickey said, raising his eyebrows and sticking his tongue out.

“You know it.”  Ian laughed until he heard his Cellphone go off.  He looked at the caller ID to see Mr Cobain calling.  “Wanna take an idea who this is?”

“Again?!  That man has called thirteen times today and I’m counting when I answered the phone only.”

“I answered three more times and Mandy was just waiting on him.”

“What does he have, dementia?”

“It’s only forty years old…”

“Forty?!  That grandpa looking shit?”

“Yea.  Your father…”

“He’s not my father.”

“Sorry, Terry…”

“Better.”

“Made us deal to him. I’d recognize that nose anywhere.  I swear, that nose is bigger than his face.”  Ian groaned.  “Time to be bossman, again.”

“Have fun.   I’ll be standing here, taking pictures.”

 

Ian sighed as he answered the phone.  Before he sat down, he looked at Mickey’s ass and he smirked.

“Hello, Mr Cobain, how can I help you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone likes this. I personally work in a pharmacy and I always thought about what Mickey would say to some of the asshole customers I got on a daily basis. I will be using some terms for a pharmacy so if I use a word I don't think people would know, I will make a glossary in the top of the piece. I hope everyone likes this.
> 
> The songs I was influenced was "Everything you want" by vertical horizon


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just reminding my readers that the italics are Mickey's thoughts and the ending takes place when Mickey and Ian were younger. Just trying not to confuse anybody

“Thank fuck the pizza is here,” Ian said as he opened the door to see Mickey, holding the pizza in one hand and the beers in the other.  He reached for the pizza and walked in the kitchen.

“And a hello to you two, Gallagher,” Mickey said as he shut the door.

 

As he headed to the kitchen, he saw Ian opened the box and took out a piece.  He shoved a piece of pizza in his mouth.  The moment he took a bite, he moaned as his eyes were shoved in the back of his head.  As Mickey looked at him, it reminded him of the days when Ian used to look like that as Ian shoved his cock in Mickey’s ass.  _I wish I could make Ian look at me like that._

“You done cuming in your pants?” Mickey asked.

“Fuck you, I’m starving.  It took you long enough to get here.  You were off four hours ago.”

“Forgive me, but there were some problems at the pharmacy and I had to stay behind and help.”

“What kinds of problems?” Ian asked, instantly tensing.

“Nothing emergency wise.  Mrs Baur was bitching because we delivered her a heating pad today and it doesn’t work.  After she screamed at me for ten minutes about the fucking thing, turns out the dumb bitch has no clue how to plug it in.” Ian rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead.  “Yeah…  Needless to say, it was taken care of.”  Mickey said as he got a plate and put a piece of extra cheese pepperoni pizza on his plate.

“How hard is it to plug in a heating pad?” Ian asked as Mickey handed Ian a plate for Ian to put his pizza in.

“Apparently, extremely difficult.” Mickey said as they sighed in unison.

 

Ian put another piece on his plate as Mickey headed to Ian’s couch with the beer.  Mickey sat on the brown couch in front of the tv as Ian sat on the other side.  Mickey grabbed a glass bottle beer and handed another to Ian.  Ian took it as he continued to shove more pizza in his mouth.  He loved the long string of cheese that slide down from each piece and the grease that rolls down his chin.

“Do you and the pizza need a room or something, princess?” Mickey asked, chuckling.

“Forgive me, but everytime I try to eat, somebody comes over with a problem.  My stomach was ready to eat my insides.”

“I told you the problem.  You need smarter workers.”

“Emily isn’t that bad…”

“The hell she isn’t.  She ran to the pharmacy, screaming at one of the cashiers to call the police for a bicker match in the parking lot, then got pissed because the poor cashier had no clue what’s going on.”

 

Emily, the head store manager, freaked out too quickly when it came to problems at the store.  When a fight started in their parking lot, Emily ran past the front cashiers and the liquor cashier to get one of the cashiers in the pharmacy department to call the police.  Since the pharmacy was in the back of the store, the cashier had no clue what was going on and was stuck on the phone with the police.   She screamed for Ian to go to the parking lot, which Ian ran to the parking lot, thinking it was a major fight he had to break up.  With Mickey right behind him, they discovered it was two girls screaming at eachother over a man.  Mickey rolled his eyes and walked back inside.  Ian broke them apart and made them leave.  When the police showed up, Ian explained the situation to them and they left.

Since that day, Mickey couldn’t stand her.  He made fun of her with Ian as much as they could.

“I know.” Ian sighed.  “I just need to have a routine and things will be better.”

“Like what?”

“I need someone to make decisions with me.  Someone to help with the questions and to talk about some ideas I have.”

“And what do you think I do?  I listen to you all the time… And I do it for free.  Yes, I could answer the phone more, but I am a pretty good listener.  To you, anyway.”

“You’re right.  I guess I just need to chill the hell down, and take a breath.”

“You need a break.  You need a lazy day.”

“I have lazy days.”

“Sitting at home, on your laptop doesn’t count as a lazy day.  You need no phone and no computer as you watch tv.”

“I guess.”

“How are you and Trevor?”

“Forget about him, he’s a crybaby.”

“What happened?”

“He’s pissed at me because I don’t wanna be a bottom.”

“He’s going to end it over the fact that you’re a pussy about being a bottom.  It’s your lose, though.  There’s nothing wrong with being a bottom.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind being a bottom if he wasn’t so fucking pushy about it.”  Ian took a drink of his beer.  “I forgot to ask… How’s Derek?”

“There’s no more Derek.  He wanted to top…”

“I thought you said ‘there’s nothing wrong with being a bottom…’” Ian mocked as he took a drink.

“There isn’t, but I don’t want any small dick man shoving it in and I spend the whole time wondering if the inch worm was actually in there or not…”  Ian chocked on his beer.  “If your dick is smaller than mine, you don’t go near this ass.”

“That’s bad because you have a small dick.”  Mickey flipped him off.

“Fuck you, my dick is seven inches long… Do I have to bring out the ruler again?”

“So you could be embarrassed by my ten inches?”  Ian said as Mickey blushed.

“You remember when we measured eachother?” Mickey asked.

“How could I forget?  You were so determined my dick was smaller than yours….”

“Man, that was a shock.  Who knew you had an anaconda in there?” Mickey said as they laughed together.  _I miss that cock in my ass._

 

Before Mickey and Ian worked together, they were boyfriends as teenagers. Before their relationship got too complicated, they chose to stay best friends.  Though Mickey never admitted it, he regretted the day they decided to stay best friends.  At night, Mickey would think about Ian as he masturbated before falling asleep.  He never told Ian for fear that Ian wouldn’t want to be friends anymore.  But everytime he looked at Ian, he realized he made a huge mistake, and is waiting for Ian to want the samething back.

 

***

 

Later that night, Mickey laid in his bed, looking at the ceiling.  Though he had the light on, he couldn’t erase his mind of Ian to fall asleep.  Though Mickey loves being around Ian, he has a hard time keeping his feelings quiet.  Ever since they talked about dick sizes, Mickey was having a hard time getting Ian’s cock out of his head.  He put his hand on his chest to remember the hickeys Ian would cover his chest.  He remembered the warm touch the long alabaster fingers would caress his stomach when he got hurt from an job from Terry.  He missed the way they would beat up other kids in the neighborhood when they caught them in the alleyway.  _God, I miss that red head_.

His mind was shut off when Mandy opened his door.  The adrenaline kick forced him to sit up and look at Mandy.  She looked like she was ready for bed as she was wearing a t-shirt with no bra on and shorts. 

When Mickey moved out of their childhood house, Mickey dragged Mandy out with him. Since Mickey didn’t want her to live with Terry by herself, he made sure she moved out.  Though she was struggling with money, he would never kick her out of the apartment they shared.  Since he makes enough money for him to enjoy living by himself in the nicest southside apartment he could find, he wasn’t pressuring Mandy to pay for some of the bills.  The only thing he really made her do was pay for the electric and go grocery shopping. 

“Bitch, you don’t know how to knock,” Mickey said, agitated.

“Oh, shut the fuck up, you queef burger,” Mandy stated as Mickey looked at her in disgust.  “I was just telling you good night.”

“Then, good night.” Mickey said, ready to lay back down as Mandy was ready to close the door.

“Are you ok?” She said, eyeing Mickey up and down.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Mickey said, shrugging.

“I don’t know… Something is off about you.  Like, your lost.” Mandy said as Mickey swallowed.

“I was just reminiscing the past a little bit.”  Mickey said as Mandy came in his room, shutting the door.

“Like what?” Mandy asked as she sat down on the bed.  “You’re not the type of guy that goes down memory lane.”

“Ian…”

“Oh, that memory lane.  Nevermind.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not stupid, I can tell that your relationship with Ian isn’t what it used to be.  Ever since you two stopped fucking, your relationship hasn’t been the same.”

“It has not.”

“The fuck it hasn’t… I see the way you look at him.  You want him back.  But what happened to make you two not want to be with eachother?”

“It’s a long story.  Besides, Ian doesn’t want me like that anymore.  I blew it.”

“What did you do?”

“Not your concern and it doesn’t matter anymore.  What happened has happened and there’s nothing I could do to change it.”

 

Before Mandy could say anything, Mickey rolled over as a sign that he was done with the conversation.  She wanted to persist Mickey on saying something to Ian, but she knew it wouldn’t get very far.  She hated how much Mickey was hurting.  She saw the way Mickey looked at Ian, and heard the way Mickey was joking to Ian.  He wanted Ian badly and Mandy wanted to figure out what happened, so she could get those two back together.  Unfortunately, it was a mission she had to work for, in order for her brother to be happy.

She stared at the back of her brother’s head for a little bit, then sighed and got up.  When Mickey heard his door slam, he laid on his back and continued to look at the ceiling.  He got up to turn off the small lamp next to his bed, then layed back down.  He remembered the night they decided to measure eachother’s dicks.

 

_On a brisk October night, Mickey and Ian were laying down on the abandoned lot by Mickey’s house.  Since Terry decided to go on a run with Joey and Jamie, Mickey and the rest of his siblings had the house to themselves.  Since Mickey’s siblings could care less about Mickey’s sexuality, Ian stays at his house when Terry is on runs.  That night, Iggy decided to have a small party with some of his friends for fun, so Mickey and Ian decided to crash it.  Before Mickey and Ian went outside to look at the stars, Mickey stole three blunts from Iggy.  After smoking all three of the blunts, Mickey and Ian were high.  Ian wouldn’t stop giggling as he looked at the train tracks and Mickey was laughing because Ian was laughing._

_As they looked at the night sky, Ian managed to calm down his laughter to breathe.  Mickey wasn’t helping by laughing at Ian trying to breathe.  When Ian got under control, he smiled as he looked at the train coming by._

_“I love how quiet it is tonight,” Ian said._

_“Same man.  I gotta give Iggy credit, he always get the good shit.” Mickey said._

_“Yeah, I have to find out who he gets the weed from.”_

_“And I have to make sure Iggy doesn’t tell you,” Mickey said snickering._

_“And why not asshole?”_

_“Because then you wouldn’t want to be around me anymore,” Mickey said, laughing._

_“You know I hang out with you for other reasons, other than the weed, right?” Ian said, looking at Mickey._

_“Calm down, traffic cone,” Mickey said, laughing as he looked at Ian. “It was a joke, I can be quite hilarious.”_

_“Oh really?” Ian asked, inching more toward Mickey._

_“Yep.  And I also have bigger dick than you.” Mickey said._

_“I doubt that,” Ian said, caressing Mickey’s cheek._

_“Oh really?  You wanna measure dicks?”_

_“What are we twelve?”_

_“What? Scared my dick would be bigger.”_

_“But you’ve seen my dick before.  We both know that my dick is bigger.”_

_“Prove it.  Let’s get a ruler and measure.  If you win, I get to bottom the next time we fuck.  If I win, you have to bottom.” Mickey said as he stood up.  “And I promise I will be extra gentle to you when I win.”  Mickey raised his eyebrows as Ian stood up._

_“You’re on.” Ian said as he raced to Mickey’s room._

_Mickey laughed as he followed behind.  When they got to Mickey’s room, Ian locked the door so none of Iggy’s friends could come in.  Mickey got the ruler he kept on his night stand.  He took off his jacket and pulled down his jeans.  He pulled down his boxers and started to get his dick hard as he laid down on the bed.  Ian froze as he watched Mickey put the end of the ruler on his pelvis as he lined his fully erect penis to the ruler.  He saw that he was seven inches and laughed as he stood up for Ian’s turn._

_“I’m seven inches, bitch” Mickey stated, “It’s your turn to lose.”_

_Ian froze for a second.  He stared at Mickey’s dick and got hard from the sight of it.  Normally, he would get whisky dick from smoking weed, but there was something about Mickey measuring dicks that was secretly turning him on.  He shook his mind and dropped his pants.  Mickey watched as Ian dropped his boxers and before Ian could say anything about the ruler, Mickey dropped to the ground to stick Ian’s dick in his mouth.  Ian was about to say something until he felt the warmth on his cock.  Ian looked down to see Mickey sucking his dick, looking at him.  Ian patted the back of his head as Mickey slowly engulfed his cock.  Ian tried to be quiet with the moaning, but had to bite his hand to keep his mouth shut.  As Mickey was sucking Ian’s dick, he started tugging at his own, feeling the tension in their balls._

_After a few minutes of Ian trying to steady his wobbly legs, they cam in unison.  Mickey greedily drank the cum as he cam in his hand.  When Ian was done, Mickey rose up with cum in his other hand.  Before Mickey said anything, Ian licked up Mickey’s cum in his hand._

_“Jesus, Gallagher,” He said.  “If my dick was so drained, I would allow you to fuck me until every inch of my ass is bruised.”_

_“If I had the energy,” Ian said, taking Mickey’s hand out of his mouth.  “I would take that offer.  Too bad I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open.”  Ian yawned._

_“I agree.” Mickey said with a yawn.  “Let’s get to bed, and in the morning, you can fuck me as hard as you want.”_

_Ian nodded as he kissed Mickey.  The kiss was slow, taking time to analyze each inch of his mouth with his tongue._

_“This is the best night of my night,” Mickey said, lips still attached to Ian’s._

_“Mine too.” Ian breathed into Mickey’s mouth._

 

_Mickey nodded as he headed to his bed, taking off his shirt.  Ian followed but kept his shirt off.  Before Ian could get in, Mickey tugged his shirt for him to take it off.  Ian took it off and threw it on the floor.  When they climbed in his bed, Mickey instantly reached for Ian to cuddle.  Mickey snaked an arm on Ian's waist as Ian grabbed his hand to kiss it._

_"Goodnight, Mick," Ian said._

_"Goodnight, Ian," Mickey said, kissing Ian's shoulder.  As Mickey was staring at Ian's hair, he realized that he was in love with Ian, and will always be there for the red head._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be apart of chapter one but forgot to include it, so fuck it... it's chapter 2.  
> Lately, I have been having a lot of bad days at work, customer wise. I guess since the end of the year is coming, people are being extra assholes about changing insurance plans. I will mention that in the piece and the customer problems in these stories are real. Just different names. And the main store manager story actually happened (just no Ian and Mickey. I was the cashier who had to make the call and she got mad at me because I just got to the store and had no clue what was going on).  
> Also, the songs I mention in every chapter for this story are songs that are over played at my work. These songs play as I write little notes about them.  
> Anyway, I wanna thank everyone for the comments, kudos, bookmarks, and even just taking the time to read this story. It means a lot that people like the story. 
> 
> The song that influenced this piece is "The chain" by Fleetwood Mac, and "where ever you will go" by the calling


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some words to make sure you understand:  
> checking scripts: when a tech fills the prescription, it's a pharmacist's job to make sure the name of the prescription matches the medication, the right medicine is dispensed, the script was ran under the right insurance, the medication is the right one, and all that. When this is done, they throw it down a medicine shoot and the cashiers would either ring up the customer or put it away. If something isn't right, we make the pharmacist check it again  
> labels: when a tech is typing the prescriptions in, the other techs are given the label to find the medicine and it's a sticker so we put them on the bag. There is also a ticket on the bottom we put in the bags  
> putting the medicine away: generally, when a medicine comes down the shoot, we electronically put them in bags that are set on a bar. We scan the prescription on the bag and then scan the bags to signify the medication is in there. We call it the bagging system  
> refill line: it's a system in the computer where the doctors electronically send prescriptions or a cashier will send a request to have something filled. A tech can tell when a medication comes up by a section on their computer that will have an exclamation point next to the name refill
> 
> If I'm not doing a good job explaining it, you can message me and I will try to help the best i can

Mickey woke up with a headache.  He was never a morning person, but this morning wasn’t any better.  He thought about the party Iggy had and could still taste Ian’s load in his mouth.  He loved the way Ian grabbed his hair and the way his cock pulsed against his teeth.

But what Mickey remembered the most was when they cuddled that night.  The warmth from his best friend was the fake warmth he woke up.  The warmth he felt that morning was the battle he felt to not reach out everytime he sees Ian.  The memories of being with Ian was clouding his head of the harsh reality that Ian wasn’t his anymore.  Mickey has listened to him when he is troubled, massaged his back when he gets sick from drinking all night, and have lessened the load from Ian at work.  Though Mickey’s help was signs that they were best friends, he hoped Ian would notice that Mickey would always mean more to him.

As Mickey got up, he looked at his cellphone and noticed it was seven am.  He was about to put his phone down to go back to sleep when he notices he had a missed call from Ian.  He immediately called him back, waiting for Ian to answer.

“Good morning, Mickey.”  Ian said, as Mickey groaned.  “Oh, you need some coffee.  Good thing I got you some, but you need to buzz me in.”

 

Mickey growled into the phone as he got up.  He walked into the hallway to press the button to let Ian in.  Mickey heard the button and could hear Ian opening the steel door.  Mickey yawned as he heard Ian walk up the stairs to the fourth floor.  Mickey walked to his front door and opened it to wait for Ian to come in.  Mickey could care less that he was standing in the building hallway in boxers and a black sleeveless shirt.

When Mickey noticed the fire engine hair, he hung up the phone.  He could hear Ian walking fast and rolled his eyes to realize that Ian was so chirper in the morning.  If Mickey could get away with it, he could sleep all morning.  Before Mickey became a tech, Mickey would spend many nights stocking the store.  When Mickey became a technician, he was working the afternoon shifts typing and filling scripts.  Dr Nigel liked his speed so well that he paid Mickey more to stay on the morning shifts.  If Mickey didn’t get more hours and get paid more, he would stay in the afternoon shift.

What he will never admit is he likes working mornings, so he can stay with Ian.  Though he hates mornings, he secretly loves Ian’s smile and the happiness Ian has to start the day.  _I wish I could tell him I love him so much._

“Morning sleepy head,” Ian said as he got closer.  Mickey glared at him and growled.  “Here’s your coffee, princess.”

Ian handed Mickey his coffee and Mickey started to breathe in his coffee.  He allowed the vapor of the coffee flood his body and jolt his brain to work.  He walked into his kitchen as Ian shut the front door.

“Are we better now?” Ian asked.

“This doesn’t erase the fact that you woke me up an hour early.” Mickey said as he swallowed another drink.  “And shouldn’t you be at the pharmacy now?”

“I needed to talk to you before you came in, so I made one of the pharmacists open.” Ian said as he took a drink of his own.

“I’m listening.” Mickey said.

“Clarissa is going on vacation for two weeks and I need someone to fill her void as I have a new cashier coming in.  Her name is Lizzy.  I’m warning you now that she has no knowledge of the pharmacy.  She has experience with a cash register, but she has never worked in a pharmacy before, so I need you to be on your best behavior.”  Ian took another drink.

“Does she know her ABC’s?”

“She worked in a library and they have to stock the books in alphabetical order.”

“Already smarter than almost all the cashiers, I like this.”  Mickey said, gulping his coffee.

“But remember, she has no pharmacy experience.”

“At least she’ll have an excuse for being a dumbass.  As long as the bitch works, that’s all that matters.  It’s the rest of the shitheads that have no excuse.”  Mickey said as Ian shook his head.

“Fair enough.  Also, since Nigel retired, we had to hire another pharmacist, so you need to be on your best behavior for that.”

“Does he know what he’s doing?”

“Yes.  He has been a pharmacist for five years.”

“Does he work?”

“Again, he has been a pharmacist for five years now.  He is highly recommended, and he seems dedicated to his job.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Mickey said as he looked at his coffee, ignoring the smirk Ian is sporting.

“Also, I need you to open on Tuesday and Thursdays that Clarissa is on break and close on Wednesdays and Fridays that the new pharmacist is working…”

“Excuse me?  Do you think that’s wise leaving me with the new pharmacist when I haven’t met him yet?”  Mickey asked wide eyed and almost choked on his coffee.

 

Clarissa is the head pharmacist technician.  She controlled the techs and the cashiers.  She made sure they were doing their job, dealing with the drama, and making the schedule. she also took care of ordering for the pharmacy and over the counter medications.  Mickey liked Clarissa as a person but wasn’t thrilled of her as a boss.  When one of the cashiers or techs weren’t working, she wouldn’t say anything.  Mickey found it frustrating that she wouldn’t do anything, but he never told Ian because Ian had enough to worry about.

“But you’re the best.  I need someone who can show the pharmacist what to do and you’re the only one that seems to know how to close correctly.  So, Sunday before we open, I’m having a meeting with the pharmacists and I want you there.”  Mickey groaned as Ian gave him the puppy eyes.  “Please?”

“Oh come on, don’t give me those stupid puppy eyes.  You know I hate that.”

“But there’s a heart somewhere in there, Tin man.”  Mickey looked at his coffee and sighed. 

“Fine.  If this is the sacrifice I have to endure to make you happy, then fine.  It’s only temporary, right?”  Ian looked away and took a sip of his coffee.  “Ian…”  Ian looked at his shoes.  “Ian Clayton Gallagher…”

“Fine…  When Clarissa comes back, I need you to open the store with me.”

“IAN!!!”

“I know it’s a lot, but I’ll make it fun.”

“Let me get this straight… Even though you know I hate working mornings…”

“Which you have been working mornings for almost three years now…”

“…You expect me to wake up an even ungodly hour to open the store, when you have Clarissa to do it….”

“But I have a surprise for you.”  Mickey took a deep breath like he was going to say something, but stopped and deflated.

“What kind of surprise?” Mickey asked as Ian gave him a devilish glare.

“You’ll see.”

“Can I guess?”

“Nope, but it’ll happen next month.”

“Next month?  Man, it’s too early for this bullshit.”

“But you’ll like it.  I promise.  Now, get dressed.  You’re going to be late.”

 

Mickey groaned as he walked to his room.  He hated when Ian had surprises because they weren’t always what Mickey wanted.  It was bad enough he had to do Clarissa’s job, now he must wait a month for this surprise?  _This surprise better be good._

 

***

 

With Ian by his side, Mickey walked into work.  It was eight thirty when they walked in and there was already a whole waiting room full of people.  The pharmacist was on the phone with a customer, not checking the medicine.  Clarissa was running around, filling prescriptions and she looked like she was ready to hit the pharmacist.  Mandy was getting into a heated argument with one of the regulars about their medicine.  Mickey and Ian looked at eachother with raised eyebrows saying that it was going to be a long day.  Mickey took a deep breath and clocked in.  Ian quickly went to the back and helped fill prescriptions while Mickey collected the prescriptions people were dropping off.

When Mickey was done, Mandy looked at him to mouth thank you.   He nodded and immediately went to work, typing the prescriptions.  He noticed Ian was at one of the pharmacist’s desks, checking the medications.  While Ian was firing through people’s prescriptions, the idiot pharmacist was still on the phone.  _Ian has been a pharmacist half the years this turtle has and he can zip through the medicines,_ he thought.  He shook his head and continued typing the medicines.  He looked at Clarissa and noticed she was having problems walking.

“You ok, Clar?” Mickey asked, not taking his eyes off the computers.

“I hurt my back this morning getting out of bed,” Clarissa said.

“That’s terrible,” Mickey said, almost mocking her.  “At least you’ll have two weeks to relax.”

“True.” Clarissa said as she continued to limp away.

“Clar,” Mickey said.  She turned to him.  “Come finish typing these scripts while I fill.”

“You sure?”

“Sure as hell.  You shouldn’t be walking.  You should be staying in your office.”

“But I have…”

“I’m helping you today.”  Clarissa raised her eyes.  “Take it while you can.  I got this.”

 

Before Clarissa had a chance to argue, Mickey grabbed a label from her hands and started to get the medicine.  He motioned her to his desk and she started typing.  He shook his head and continued to look for the medicine.  He noticed Ian was smirking in his way and he flipped him off.

“That’s no way to treat your boss,” Ian said.

“Don’t you have pharmacist shit to do?” Mickey said in a playful tone.

“I will… As soon as I get a camera for this.  I can’t believe I’ll see the day Mickey Milkovich offered to fill prescriptions.”

“Shut up, she could barely walk.”

“See… That heart is in there, somewhere.”

“Mickey have a heart,” Mandy said from her register.

“Shouldn’t you be ringing up orders?” Mickey said, loudly.

 

Mickey could see Mandy flipping him off while she was at the medicine shoot.  He returned the favor before she went back to her register.

After fifteen minutes, Mickey was caught up on filling the prescriptions and Ian was caught up on checking the medications.  Mickey could see Mandy was struggling on putting the prescriptions away, so he ran to the cashier section and put the medicine away, while Mandy was finishing on the customers.  Mickey noticed there were a few prescriptions Ian had to check that the other pharmacist was slacking.  _How the hell did you become a pharmacist if you can’t check to make sure the pill in the bottle looks like the pill on the screen?_ He thought.

When Mickey walked in the back, Ian had his hand up in a high five.

“Good job, Mick,” Ian said.

“Thanks. Man,” Mickey said.

“You see why I need you in the morning,” Ian whispered in Mickey’s ear.  Mickey could feel the goosebumps where Ian was speaking to him.  Mickey could only nod as his mouth was growing dry.  “Thank you so much, man.”

 

Mickey nodded as he walked back to his office.  Clarissa was still sitting at his desk.  She looked extremely tired and it was only the beginning of her shift.

“Why don’t you go home, Clar?” Mickey said.

“No, I have so much, work to do and I have the new girl starting today.”

“I can handle that.  You need to go home and rest that back.”

“I love the offer, Mick, but I can’t.”  Mickey sighed.

“Well, if you need help, let me know.  You should probably stay on the phones today.”

“Why?  So it could give you an excuse to not talk to the people on the phone?”  Clarissa said in a chuckle.

“I wish I could get away with that, but apparently it doesn’t work like that.”  Mickey said with a playful smile on his face.  “Besides, a pretty woman like yourself should get to know people.”

“You tease.” Clar said.  “You will make a woman very happy one day.”

“But then you will have no one to mess with.”

 

Mickey laughed as Clarissa stood up.  She smiled at him as she walked to her office.  Though Clarissa got on his nerves sometimes, she was almost like his mother.  She has worked in the pharmacy more than Mickey has been alive and helped Dr Nigel train him to be a tech.  It worried him that Clarissa was having problems walking and it was the last stress she needed.  He hoped her walking problems were nothing and she would be better in no time.

Mickey looked down at the floor as the worry feeling was reaching his eyes.  He took a breath and then lifted his head to his computer.  He checked the refill line to see if any doctors sent any scripts as he glanced at Mandy working.  She was talking to another customer about their problems as he smirked.

When Mickey looked straight ahead to see if the other workers were coming, he noticed somebody else was heading in the pharmacy department.  Trevor.  Mickey looked at Ian as Ian was watching Trevor come in with a smile on his face.  Mickey remembered that smile Ian use to have when they were teenagers.  Ian looked like Trevor could be his moon and sun.  He would do anything just for Ian to look at him like that again.

When Trevor came in the back, he smiled at Mickey.

“Hey, Mickey,” Trevor said as he raised his hand up.  Mickey reached his hand out for Trevor to hit his.  “How are you?”

“I’m good.” Mickey said.  “What you been up to?”

“Today is the first day of my new job.”

“Oh nice,” Mickey said, pretending to care.  “well, good luck.  Ian, Trevor’s here.”

 

Mickey was confused as to why Trevor was here.  He met Trevor two weeks ago and Mickey didn’t care for him the moment he smiled in Mickey’s direction.  From what Ian was telling him, Trevor was a major crybaby and Mickey can’t stand crybabies. _Ian said that they were done last night, so why was Trevor here?_

“Hey man,” Ian said, kissing Trevor’s cheek.  “You made it.”

“Made it?” Mickey asked.

“Yeah, Trevor is our new pharmacist.”

 

Suddenly, Mickey forgot to breathe, Ian didn’t mention it when he was in Mickey’s apartment.  Mickey would’ve remembered because Mickey could care less about the man.

“Since when?” Mickey asked.

“Wow, Ian.  I thought you owned the place,” Trevor said as Mickey’s eyebrows were rising to his hairline.  “I didn’t know you had to explain yourself to the help?”

“Excuse me?”  Mickey asked as his left hand balled in a fist, while the other touched his face.  “I’m sorry I wanted the heads up when my best friend wakes me up at seven am with coffee to tell me there was a new pharmacist.”

“Ok, ok,” Ian said, as Trevor stared at Mickey, ready for a fight.  “Let’s not fight, gentlemen.  Now, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Mick, but Trevor is our new pharmacist.  Now, let’s try to get along.”

“No promises, man,” Mickey said, ready to get in Trevor’s face.

“Mick, come on,” Ian said with his puppy eyes.  “I’m asking both of my employees to get along.”

 

Mickey sighed, then nodded.  Though he was ready to punch that whiney face, he remembers he has a job to do.  Trevor clicked his teeth and still looked at Mickey.  He marched to the pharmacist’s desk as Mickey went back to work.  He saw Mandy was looking at him and shook her head as she went back to work.  He shook his head as he looked at his screen.  Mickey had a bad feeling of Trevor working there and he knew Trevor was going to do anything he could to test his relationship with Ian and make working at the pharmacy difficult. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's this new pharmacist at my job that I'm going to base Trevor on. The two people at my work that Mickey and Trevor are based on don't get along so I will bring up some of their arguments here  
> My co-workers laugh at me because i'm not a morning person. If I don't get my coffee in the morning, I start growling at people. So I feel like that is Mickey as well  
> (keep this in mind, this is fan fic, not the show shameless so I actually give a shit about Mickey and Ian's happiness).
> 
> Anyway, I wanna thank everyone for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and just taking the time to read my stress relief. I hope everyone is enjoying it.
> 
> The song that was stuck in my head today at work is "Tell me lies" by Fleetwood Mac, and "Love is a battlefield" by Pat Benator


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> baskets: Generally when a tech is filling a prescription, they put the medicine in a basket so it will be easier to carry  
> pa: prior authorization. This is the biggest thorn in the pharmacy's side the insurance can do. Generally, if a insurance company just decides it wants to know why you are taking medicine, they won't pay for it until the doctor calls them. This can take almost three days to do (I personally understand if it's a narcotic but not blood pressure pills or something like that)  
> Black basket: we generally put the scripts in the black basket to tell the techs they need to be done. They generally sit between two desks and the techs that's typing will take turns doing them. When a tech is by themselves, they don't have to type so they can concentrate on filling. (The guy that reminds me of Mickey does both to boost his ego.)

Mickey sat at his desk, watching Trevor and Ian work together. He tried to stay busy working on the refill line, but he couldn’t stop looking at them.  Ian would tell one of his corny little jokes and Trevor would laugh a little too hard.  _God, he was such a little bitch._

The only thing that gave Mickey a decent distraction was shooing Clarissa to her office.  Though he was elated that there was someone who worked as much as himself, he didn’t want to see her hurt anymore.

“Clar, what did I tell you?  Go back in your office!” Mickey barked.

“But I have work to do…” Clar protested.

“And I will take care of them.  But your back isn’t going to get any better unless you sit down.”

“Do you know how to…”

“Hush that.  If I have any questions, I will personally ask.  Until then, you need to sit in your office chair and relax.”

“You always know how to sweet talk a lady, don’t you?” Clar said with a smirk.  “Too bad you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Hey, you know I don’t do relationships because they get too messy.”

“Or you haven’t met ‘the one’.  Or maybe the one is right in front of your eyes and you won’t notice it…”

“Thank you for the love tips, Julia Roberts.”

“It’s funny how you know who she is.”

“You’re forgetting I have a sister who likes watching those stupid chick flick movies and we only had one tv.”

 

Mickey looked at Clarissa and he noticed she had a suspicious smile.  He knew she never knew he was gay, but he was always curious to know if she figured it out.  Clarissa seemed to be his second mother.  Would she know?  He knew she would accept his sexuality, but he was having fun seeing how long before she would blurt it out that she knew.

“So, I heard you almost punched the new pharmacist?” Clarissa said.  Mickey whined.  “He’s cute.”

“He’s a little bitch.  And I assume Ian is still dating him.  I could get along with him if we weren’t ‘his help’.  I’m no one’s bitch, especially his.  He said it like we were maids to him.  Fuck that.” Mickey ranted as Clarissa looked annoyed.

“He looks like he won’t last long.”

“But what happens if Ian keeps him?”

“But you don’t get along with him and he trusts your judgement.”

“I don’t get along with half of the people here, and Ian keeps them here.”

“That’s because of that bubbly personality you sport around.”  Mickey flipped her off.  “But seriously, every advice you give, Ian takes them to heart.”

“But, he might be thinking with his dick instead of his brain.”

“Hey, from what I know from Ian is he doesn’t make a decision without your input.  If you have a bad feeling about this pharmacist, Ian is going to dig in and find what’s wrong.  You need more faith in him.” 

“Ok, fine.  I will give Ian a chance.  But if that little shit starts with that shit again… I won’t keep my mouth shut.”  Mickey said, sighing.

“Because you never voice your opinion.” Mickey flipped her off again.  “Now go, you have work to do.  My niece, Lizzy, will be here shortly.  And you will be nice to her, right?”

“I will be nice and extend the grace period to six months since she has no experience in the pharmacy.  After that, she better proves she has brain cells.”

“She will.  She’s a fast learner.  She just gets nervous easy, sometimes.”

“Oh lord, I will need to buy me a thirty pack to deal with this shit.”

 

Mickey heard Clarissa laugh as he headed back to his desk.  He saw the other techs standing around, getting to know Trevor as there was a basket full of medications.  _Trevor hasn’t been here more than three hours and the vultures are already by his side like a gossip magazine._

Mickey shook his head as he continued to work on the scripts.  Since there were four techs filling up scripts, he refused to do them.   He would run them through insurance, do the refill line, and answer the cashier’s questions, but he wouldn’t move from his spot.  Instead of screaming insults to get the techs to work, he chose to let the labels stack up on the table and watch them gossip.

As Mickey was watching the other techs talking, he didn’t notice Ian was standing right behind him.  He saw the techs talking to Trevor, but he noticed Mickey’s behavior more.  Usually, Mickey would be insulting the other techs to get them to do their job and even followed them around to make sure they would do their job.  Instead, Mickey was scrolling through his phone.

Not wanting to watch anymore of the train wreck in front of him, he cleared his throat loudly.  When one of the techs noticed Ian was standing there, she nudged the other techs and they immediately got to work.  Mickey didn’t even look up at him.

“Mick,” Ian said.  Mickey dropped his phone and looked at Ian.  “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Mickey stated, waiting to pick up his phone again.

“You seem out of it today.”  Mickey shrugged.  Ian took a deep breath.  “Why are you being stubborn?  Is this still about what happened this morning?”

“You mean when you forgot the important detail that Trevor was working here?  I thought you two broke up?”

“You know, in order for me and Trevor to break up, we had to date first?  He was just a lay, nothing else.  I just couldn’t stomach his shitty attempt to drain my dick so we’re friends.”

“Friends?”

“Yes, just not sleeping together.  I would rather use my hand for that.” Ian smirked as Mickey nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me that he was the new pharmacist?  I didn’t even know he went to college, let alone medical school.”

“I thought I told you that?”

“No, you must have told your other best friend named Mickey.”  Ian shrugged.

“I’m sorry, man.  I thought I told you.  I will admit, I made a mistake and I’m sorry.  I will make it up to you.” Mickey clicked his teeth as Ian eyes him.  “Are we good, now?”

“He’s lucky I didn’t knock his teeth down his throat for calling me his help.  I’m a tech, not a house bitch.”

“And I said something to him about that.   There was no excuse for him to treat you like that.”  Mickey nodded.  “Now, can we wipe the clean slate and try again?”

“I will try my best, but if he calls me the help again, I will help shove his dick down his throat.”

“I will make sure he treats you better.  There was no reason why he called you that.   He maybe your boss but he’s not the king of this empire.  I am,” Ian said with a smirk.  Mickey blushed as he smirked back.  “Now, are we good?”

“We good, man.”

 

***

 

Mickey was so busy chasing after the techs that he forgot about the new girl working there.  Mickey was hoping he didn’t have to show her around, because he hates training.  Of course, he’ll do it for Ian, but he would never volunteer for the draining task.

He smiled when he saw Mandy showing the new girl around.  He assumed she was new because he never saw her before.  There was only a couple of people he bothered to learn their names in the pharmacy.  With the techs, he only talked to Clar.  He only communicated to the rest of them by screaming and throwing insults.  As for the cashiers, he only talked to Mandy.  And the only pharmacist he dealt with was Ian.  He only talked to the rest of the pharmacists if he had to.  Everyone in the pharmacy was used to him wanting to keep quiet, and never bothered to talk to him unless it was work related.

He was about to play on his phone until the new girl stood next to him.  One look at her and he could tell she was too nervous to speak to him.  He gave an half assed smile to her to pretend to care about what she was about to say and she gave a kiss- ass smile.

“Hey buddy…” She said.

“Whoa… Gonna stop you right there.  The name is Mickey.  You will address me under any other name but ‘buddy’.  I am not your buddy.  We will not be friends.  You come up here to bother me with a medicine problem that you can’t do and then you will go back to your register to take care of the customers.  I will not be your ‘buddy’.  Are we clear?”

“Whatever you say, Ian’s snitch.”

“What the fuck did you just call me?” Mickey said, arching an eyebrow.

“Ian’s snitch.  I assume you like that because all the girls down there call you that…” She said, almost mocking his tone.

“Ok,” Mickey said, trying to sound pissed.  “Just call me Mickey.  What’s your name?”

“Lizzy.”

 

Before Mickey could say anything, Mandy came storming by.

“Mickey, how long does it take your dumbass to run an insurance claim?  She has a lot to learn down here.” Mandy said.

“Keep your lack of panties on, hoe bag.  I am teaching her how to properly ask me for help.” Mickey said, as he turned to his computer.  “And why can’t you do it?”

“I could, but I need to get her to get comfortable asking you guys to run prescriptions through insurance because she can’t do them herself.”  She turned to Lizzy.  “Please forgive my sorry excuse of a brother.  He is a bit of a drama queen.”

“Fuck off, and I need the number of the script, so I can help you.”

“You know, you two look so much alike.”

“Fuck off,” the siblings said in unison. 

 

Mandy handed Mickey the paper with the script on it and Mickey forcefully grabbed it from his hand.  As he was going through his routine of finding the problem with the prescriptions, he noticed Lizzy was watching him.  Instead of being up his ass like the other cashiers, she kept a good distance away from him and he could tell she was keeping track of how to do this for herself.

“Found the problem.  It says she needs a prior auth…” Mickey said, scratching his head.

“And what does that mean?”  Lizzy asked as Mickey sighed to figure out how to explain.

“Generally, you will learn as you continue to work for the pharmacy that insurance companies don’t wanna pay for shit.  In this patient’s case, she has gotten the same blood pressure medicine so many times that the insurance companies want to know why she still needs it…”

“So, what can be done?”

“I sent the paperwork to the doctor, so they can call the insurance company and explain the situation to the insurance company.  All the techs and pharmacists here can do is run it through insurance to see if it goes through.  We will never be able to know when we can.  All the patient can do is wait for the insurance to approve, which you will never meet a customer that likes to wait for it…”  Mickey said, scratching the back of his head as Lizzy nodded.

 

Mickey noticed in Lizzy’s hand was a notebook she was writing these things down.  _She’s already smarter than almost all the cashiers._

When Mandy felt they were satisfied, she went downstairs with Lizzy.  Before Lizzy left, she thanked him for the help as she followed Mandy.  Mickey nodded and sighed.  He smiled, starting to like Lizzy already.

As her shift went through, he continued to watch Lizzy take notes and handle customers.  He even noticed she was answering the phones.  He listened to the way she was talking to the customers while he was taking care of scripts and he didn’t mind the many times she came to him with a problem.  Normally, he hated to be bothered with the same questions, but he didn’t mind it from her since she was new.

He was too busy watching the new girl, he didn’t notice Ian was behind him until Ian flicked him in the back of his head.  Mickey snapped back to reality and was ready to hit someone until he saw red hair.

“Man, why do you insist on sneaking up behind me?” Mickey asked as Ian shrugged.

“More fun that way.  I see you have a new girlfriend, Mick.” Ian said with a chuckle.

“Fuck off.  I’m just watching how good she works.”

“How is she?”

“She has asked a fuck ton of questions, but she’s taking notes.  She seems to be taking in some information.  She’s smarter than all the cashiers.  I see her being smarter than all the techs, just give her a month.”

“I’m glad you like your new girlfriend.”

“Fuck off.  I’m just excited there are people who actually work here.” Mickey said as Ian was nodding.

“Good.  She seems to be nice, and Mandy tells me that she has to stay busy.”

“I can tell.  You know, she actually answers the phone.  Trevor hates it because she sends it up to him and he has to answer it but he will get over it.  He gets paid to answer the stupid’s questions.”

 

Ian laughed as they looked at eachother.  Mickey noticed that Ian was acting weird, but he never said anything because he was afraid of why Ian was acting so weird.  Mickey was afraid that Ian would be upset that Lizzy was pissing Trevor off.  He sees the way Ian looks at him.  _When will Ian ever look at me that way?_

 

***

 

Mickey sat in his car and took a deep breath.  It was going to be a long night because he was stuck with Trevor.  In the week Trevor has been there, he has managed to piss Mickey off anyway he could.  It was bad enough Mickey had to do almost every tech’s job, Trevor was trying to make Mickey do his job, as well.  It was so bad, Mickey went to Ian’s office and threatened to quit.  Ian managed to calm Mickey down and said he would talk to Trevor, but he had a feeling the “talk” wasn’t going to do anything.

When he got out of the car, he started to head to the store and stopped in the doorway when he noticed Ian was talking to Emily.  He noticed Ian’s chiseled chest with how tight his shirt was and the tight sleeves from his muscular arms that look like he could bench press the whole store.  Mickey longed to run his fingers down those abs and press his body against Ian’s.

When Ian looked in his direction, Mickey adverted his eyes.  He had to adjust himself because of the weird boner that was pitching a tent in his tight jeans.  He walked in and started to head toward the pharmacy when he saw Ian was heading in his direction.

“Mick,” Ian said when he caught up.

“What’s up, peppermint patty?” Mickey asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

“I thought about the other day…”

“You mean when I threatened to quit?”

“That day.  Since I don’t want you two fighting when I’m not here, I’m switching his schedule so you two won’t work together.   You’ll still be working in the morning together and you will still be closing, but you two won’t be alone.”  Ian said when Mickey stopped walking.  Ian paused to watch Mickey’s face.

“Trevor complain about me too, huh?”

“That’s not important.”  Mickey clicked his teeth as he tried to leave.  Ian grabbed his arm and electricity jolted up Mickey’s arm.  “What’s important is my best friend wasn’t happy.  Just… Please don’t leave.  You have been the only person who hasn’t complained and one of the only people who does their job here.”  Ian looked Mickey in his eyes as Mickey nodded.

“Yea, man.  I will do my best.  Just keep fuck head away from me, fire crotch.”

 

Ian smiled, and Mickey was ready to melt.  The soft green eyes Mickey was fond of had a way to make him stumble like a love struck teenage girl.  As much as Mickey denies that Ian doesn’t have the power to control him, Ian does.  All Ian has to do is smile in his way and Mickey would go as far as giving the man back rubs.

“I will try my best, Mickey mouse.”  Ian laughed as Mickey grabbed his arm back.

“Fuck off, Gallagher.” Mickey said, playfully.  “I have work to do since ‘the help’ is supposed to be his disposal.” Mickey rolled his eyes as Ian laughed.

“Well, I bet you would look cute in a maid’s outfit.”  Mickey tried to look pissed, but he was blushing.

“Fuck off, asshat.  I gotta get back.”

 

Before Ian could say anything else, he walked to the pharmacy.  He turned back and saw Ian was still staring at him.  He was about to say something when he saw Ian adverted his eyes to another direction.

When Mickey got in the back, the other techs immediately started to run to the clock to punch out.  He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.  _These bitches complain they need hours but won’t stay.  What was the point in them having a job?_

He looked at Trevor that was checking the prescriptions.  The whole table was filled with prescription baskets of unchecked prescriptions and the ledge was filled with return to stocks.  He grabbed the return to stocks and put them in the basket for return to stocks that Trevor could do later.  He saw that Trevor was eyeing Mickey up as he was checking the medicines.

“You know, you could be helping me here?” Trevor said.

“What would you like me to do?   Wipe your ass?  Make a sandwich and cut it in 4s for you?” Mickey asked, trying to keep his cool.

“You could be checking these prescriptions.”

“I’m not allowed.  I’m not a pharmacist, jack ass.”

“Well, you could be doing something more than standing around with your dick in your hand.”  Trevor said looking at Mickey.  Mickey took a deep breath to keep from punching him.

“And all this time you’re spending acting like a bitchy queen, you could have finished that pile.  Sorry you have to do your job… You know, the one you get paid to do… But we have customers waiting and they don’t like that.” Mickey said in the most condescending tone.  Trevor rolled his eyes as he continued to work.  “Jesus fuck.”

 

Mickey walked to his desk.   The black basket by his desk was filled with scripts.  He sighed and signed into his computer.  As soon he was signed in, he immediately got to work.  He peeked down by the cashiers to see Mandy and Lizzy working.  _Thank fuck._

As he was running the scripts through the insurance, he saw Lizzy was walking to him.

“Hey, Mickey,” Lizzy said, nervous.

“What’s up?” Mickey asked.

“So, I’m sorry to bother you…”

“Just let it out… Got too much work to do.” Mickey said, rolling his eyes.

“How do you bill this?” Lizzy asked.  Mickey stopped typing to look at Lizzy.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”  Lizzy handed him the script.  “This is an flu shot, you have to give it to Trevor.”

“I did.”

“And…”

“He told me it wasn’t his job to do them.  I have to.”  Mickey’s eyebrows were raised with his hairline.

“No, you don’t.  You don’t have the license to do that.”  Mickey rolled his eyes and put the paper down.  “Stay right here.  Apparently, I have to do princess’s job, so he can stand around to talk to the other techs.”  Mickey rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“Never apologize for fuck head.  You did the right thing.  Let me get this little bitch.”  Mickey sighed.  “Just let me finish this script first.  When I’m done, I need you to ring them up.  Then, I have to get asshole to give the shot out.”

“The pharmacist has to do it?”  Mickey nodded.

“I apparently am going to have to light a fire under his ass.  I’m not getting in trouble because he doesn’t wanna do shit.  When you get down there, tell Mandy not to put any new scripts in my basket.  Asshole will be putting them in while I’m filling.  Is Mandy closing tonight?”

“I am.  This is the first time by myself.”

“Don’t worry.  I’ll help you with closing.  But I gotta feeling it will be a long shift.  What time is wicked witch of the south done her shift?”  Mickey said, nodding.

“Ian is making her stay until nine.  She was supposed to leave but the other cashiers called out.”

“Of course, they did.  All do them are so useless.” Mickey said, rolling his eyes.

“So, who do I give the flu shots to?”

“Trevor.  He gets paid to do them.  Why?”

“I gave him the scripts and he starts screaming at me.  He told me it wasn’t his job.”

“Don’t worry about that little bitch, I will take care of him.  I just have to make sure I have enough self control to not show him my crazy side.”

 

Lizzy nodded.  When Mickey was done, he handed Lizzy the label and she went to ring them up.  Mickey took a deep breath, grabbed the labels he just worked on, and flipped his black basket.  He saw Trevor was on the phone, writing something down on his notebook.  Reminding himself there was no beer in prison, he started filling the medications.  Mickey noticed the whole time, Trevor was just standing there, not checking any of the prescriptions.  Mickey rolled his eyes as he was continuing to fill the prescriptions.

When he was done, he noticed Trevor was still on the phone.  He peeked at the caller ID and saw it was Mr Cobain.  Mickey shook his head humorously as he leaned against the table.  The whole table was covered with medication baskets and the ledge was filled with scripts.

When Trevor was done, he hung up the phone, and started to check the medicines.

“You have a flu shot to take care of.” Mickey said, as Trevor’s hands hit the table.

“I told the cashier that I don’t do that…”

“I don’t know what you were taught, but here it is your job.  You have to give the shot to the customers.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Tech, not pharmacist.  You have work to do.”  Mickey tiled his head with a smart-ass smirk as Trevor’s phone was ringing.

“Well, aren’t you going to get the phone?”

“Sounds like your phone is ringing.  That means they want to talk to the pharmacist, not the tech so that is a you problem.” 

 

Trevor rolled his eyes as he went to get the flu shot.

“Aren’t you going to do anything today?”

“That depends on your attitude.  You keep it up, you will be filling scripts by yourself and I will sit at my desk and watch.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Watch me.”  Mickey chuckled as he wiped his nose.

“I’m your boss so I have the authority to tell you what to do.” 

“Oh really?  Looks like you need to know how much of an asshole I can be,” Mickey said as he stuck his tongue out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was generally going to take a break to finish school but I had a really bad day yesterday so I decided to write this chapter. The fight between the tech and the pharmacist is real. The pharmacist screamed at me because he didn't want to run a flu shot and wanted me to do it. Since I don't have the license to do it, I gave it to the tech that did it. He told the pharmacist that the cashiers aren't allowed to do them but kept yelling at us for not doing them so he could joke with all the other techs.  
> With Mickey not wanting to fill for the medicines, that did happen in real life. The pharmacist was so lazy, the tech sat at his desk and watched the pharmacist run around.  
> I wanna thank everyone for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and taking the time to read this story. It means a lot people like my rant at work.  
> The songs that influenced the chapter was "Smells like teen spirit" By Nirvania, and "Mr Brightside" by the killers


	5. Chapter 5

Mickey sat at his computer, watching Trevor run frantically to get the prescriptions done.  He flipped the black basket, so Lizzy would have to give the prescriptions to Trevor.  Trevor gave Mickey a glare as he was checking the medications.   The shoot where Trevor would throw the medications were littered with prescriptions and Mickey never stopped to help him. 

He watched Lizzy struggle with the customers, so he signed into his program on the register and started running prescriptions through insurances.  Since Mandy’s shift ended, he could see Lizzy was alone and was starting to get overwhelmed.  He wanted to watch Trevor struggle, but Lizzy didn’t deserve it.

When the rush was over, he helped her bag the prescriptions, and walked back to his desk.  She followed him and was playing with her hands.

“Thank you, for the help,” Lizzy said.

“It’s nothing,” Mickey said.

Mickey looked at Lizzy and saw Carl was walking up to the pharmacy.

“Mickey?  I thought that was you,” Carl said, going up the stairs.  Mickey stood up and bumped Carl’s knuckles, while Lizzy went to help a customer.  “I thought you were a morning bitch?”

“Ian is making me train, fuck you very much,” Mickey said, laughing.

 

Carl started working for Ian when he turned sixteen and is one of the stock guys for the afternoon shift.  Other than Ian, Carl was Mickey’s favorite Gallagher.  Everytime Mickey sees him, it reminds him of the little annoying brother that liked to burn Barbie’s and try to break the lock to the bedroom when Mickey and Ian were fucking.  Carl always reminded Mickey of himself, so naturally they got along the best.

“I know you’re enjoying the training,” Carl said.

“I don’t mind the training if they do their job.  Some of these people here, I don’t understand why Ian keeps them.”

“I was wondering the samething about the stock guys.  Ian has me cleaning up a huge mess one of the stock guys made because they had a temper tantrum.  He called Emily a cunt and Ian ended up firing his ass.  I’m glad because he was making too many demands.”

“We can definitely tell when you’re off.  The backroom always has a lot of trash in it when you’re not there, and the bathrooms smell horribly.  It’s so hard finding help, isn’t it?”

“True.  So, just like old times?”

“I’d say.  It feels so weird being here in the afternoon and not helping him with something.  I swear, that boy needs to take a breath.”

“I agree.  I guess he’s just nervous that he won’t keep the store afloat now that Dr. Nigel retired.  I just hope that his bipolar doesn’t rear its ugly head out.”

“Hopefully not.  So, how is college?”

“A bitch.  All I have time to do when I’m not here is study.  Sometimes, I go to some random party to drain my dick on some honey, but other than that, nothing serious.  You?”

“Lately, I’ve just been draining my dick on some random dude.”

“None of them fit the Milkovich standards?”

“They’re all a bunch of crybabies.  I just want to find one man that isn’t some whiny bitch.  You know, a man.”

“I hear ya.  Lately, that’s all I see Ian dating lately.”  Carl looked at Trevor running around, trying to fill prescriptions.  “I take it this one pissed you off?”

“Keeps running his mouth so I have to show him the hard way not to mess with me.”

 

Trevor dropped the basket and looked at Mickey.

“You know, you could be doing your job and filling these scripts?” Trevor said.

“I could, but I’m enjoying my entertainment.”

“That’s fine, but you have to explain it to the customers why you’re too busy talking to some ignorant asshole.”

 

Carl’s eyes widened as he looked at Mickey.

“Now I see what you mean.  He’s lucky I don’t show him how ‘ignorant’ I can be.”  Carl said, folding his arms.  Mickey followed.  “The asshole part, however, he’s not wrong.”

“Maybe I should introduce you to this asshole.  This is Carl Gallagher.  As in, Ian Gallagher’s brother.  He graduated from high school when he was seventeen years old and is currently attending college as a business major.”  Mickey said as Carl gave him an asshole grin.  Trevor froze.

“You’re Ian’s brother?  But you don’t have any red hair.”

“And we have a brother that’s black?!  Who cares?!”  Carl scoffed as Trevor went back to his computer, glaring at Mickey.  “Man, my brother knows how to pick them.”

“Even better, Trevor was Ian’s fuck buddy and now he’s your future brother-in-law,” Mickey said as Carl clicked his teeth.

“God dammit.  Ian needs to stop dating these bitches, they’re annoying as fuck.”

“I know.  Ian told me that they were done but they have been eye fucking eachother since he started,” Mickey whispered as Carl rolled his eyes.

“Speaking of bitches, Mickey.” Carl laughed as Mickey flipped him off.  “Are you coming over the house for dinner Sunday night?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Why?”

“On the grounds that I don’t want to.  And you know, my last name isn’t Gallagher.”

“Oh, whatever.  You and Mandy have been in our family since before I was in diapers.  You want Fiona banging on your door again?”

 

Mickey bit his bottom lip.  When Mickey and Ian weren’t on good terms after their breakup, Ian was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  When Mickey found out, he stopped by their house and made sure Ian was ok.  They determined that they were going to stay friends and not have benefits, like they used to.  When Fiona heard they were friends, she started inviting Mickey to the Gallagher dinners Fiona would have once a month.  When Mickey didn’t show up, she went to the Milkovich house and started banging on Mickey’s bedroom door until Mickey answered and she dragged him to dinner.  Since then, he never missed the once a month Sunday dinner.

“Oh god no.  I have to admit, she’s stronger than I thought she would be.  She still living in the apartments she owns?”

“No, her and Debbie are fighting because Fiona won’t let her live in one of the apartments for free.  I can’t blame her, she needs a profit and it’s not her fault Debbie is a high school dropout who got knocked up.  I mean, her welding degree seems to be doing well for her, but she needs to get her head out of her ass and be more responsible.  But, that’s not my business.  And don’t you talk to her in the morning?”

“Not really. She works here three days a week and she’s always stuck taking care of the asshole customers that we never have a chance to talk.”

When Ian started studying to be a pharmacist, he convinced Fiona to go to school with him to give her balance and a future.  Since she got her GED when Lip got his high school diploma, they found a school that would take someone with a GED and they graduated together.  Dr Nigel hired Fiona when she graduated, while he promoted Ian.  Fiona has been a pharmacist for years, but she invested as an apartment owner when her boyfriend, Steve, convinced her to buy an apartment building with her. 

“I hear that.  With college and working in the afternoons, I never get the chance to see her.  I like the quietness.”

“I hear that.  Mandy didn’t renew her license as a tech.”

“Why the fuck would she do something that dumb?”

“Because she wants to do something else.  Fuck the fact that I helped her pay for it or anything.”

“That’s fucked up, but women… What can you do?”

“And that’s why I stick to sucking cock.  At least I stick with what I know.”

“Right,” Carl said, laughing.  “Well, I gotta get to working.  Got so much to do, not enough time to do it.”

“I hear that.  Enjoy cleaning the jizz on the titles in the bathroom.  It’ll be like being at home.”

“Fuck off,” Carl said, flipping him off.

 

Mickey laughed as Carl disappeared.  Mickey sat at his desk and looked at the computer.  He noticed it was seven.  _Three more hours to go._

Mickey groaned as he continued to play a game on his phone.  He glanced at Trevor, who was watching Mickey with a glare.  Mickey smirked, knowing he was pissing Trevor off.  He was having fun, until Ian started texting him.

_Ian: You kill Trevor yet??_

Mickey: Not yet, but I have three hours left, lol.  Carl says hi, by the way.

_Ian: Tell him I said hi and to get back to work.  How is Trevor handling the afternoons?_

Mickey: Not well.

_Ian: I see.  How is Lizzy doing?_

Mickey: She’s slow on the register but she works so I have no problems.

_Ian: Let me know if everything works out._

Mickey: So far, Mr Cobain called five times.  Everytime he called, I’ve been giving it to Trevor.

_Ian: You’re such an ass, lmao.  I’ll talk to Mr Cobain in the morning.  Keep up the good work and I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow_

Mickey: *groaning enterally* I won’t make any promises about not biting people’s heads off.

Mickey stared at his phone for a moment longer, looking at the text messages.  He looked at Ian’s contact photo and smiled.  _How do you tell your best friend that you’re still in love with him?_

Mickey sighed as he looked at the black basket.  He noticed the store has calmed down and he sees Lizzy is cleaning her station with Clorox wipes.  The only person he saw cleaning their station was Mandy.  The morning cashiers would wait until the afternoon cashiers would clean the stations.  Since almost all the afternoon cashiers called out, Lizzy had to work by herself.  The only cashier that could handle it was Mandy.

Not wanting to stare, he went back to his computer.  He ignored Trevor on the phone as he was writing notes.  As he was staring at the computer screen, he heard a song that reminded him of Ian.

_“I could hardly believe it, When I heard the news today, I had to come and get it straight from you, they said you were leaving, someone swept your heart away, From the look upon your face I see its true”._

Mickey turned to his phone as he heard the song.  He tried to ignore the music as he was waiting for the end of the shift.

_“Tell me all about it, tell about the plans you're making, then tell me one thing more before I go”_

Mickey couldn’t help, but pay attention to the lyrics.   He was trying to ignore the mundane song Ian probably put on as a joke, but he couldn’t stop thinking of Ian.  He looks at Trevor and remembers Ian being close to the man.  He starts to think of Ian and Trevor in a bed, shirtless.  He sees them making out and the thought was making his stomach churn.

_“Tell me how am I supposed to live without you, now that I've been loving you so long…”_

Before Mickey could think of anything else, he snaps out of the images and walks to Ian’s desk.  _There is no way I’m going to listen to this shitty song._

He could see on the screen that Ian was working on his computer.  Mickey sat down and tried to turn on the radio, but Ian had more control of the computer.

After a few minutes of Mickey losing, he mumbles a few cuss words as he pulled out his phone to call Ian.

“Yes?” Ian asked.

“Michael Bolton?  Really?” Mickey asked.

“I don’t know which is scarier...  The fact that Pandora has a radio for him, or the fact that you know who Michael Bolton is.”

“Fuck off, change this song to something better.”

“What?  Not in the mood to let in your inner feelings?”

“Fuck that shit.”

“Not a Michael Bolton fan?  I thought you would love him.”

“I’m not some thirty-year-old soccer mom who never gets laid.  Now, change the song or I swear, I will put push pins on your chair.”

“You know, I will be able to tell when you’re doing that because I have these things hanging from the ceilings called cameras.”

“But I know all the blind spots, since I helped put them up.”

“Mickey, you’re no fun.”  Ian mockingly sighed.  “I will change it back.  I do want to change to different music, other than fifties bebop music.  I feel like ‘Leave it to Beaver’ everytime I walk in the store.”

“I think you should do a mix.  Play the fifties shit to cater to the gargoyles who come in.  Play the sixties to the eighties for the people having their third midlife crisis.  Some nineties for the hipsters who thinks every grunge music is god.  Then, play pop music for the yuppy teenagers who thinks every song is danceable.” Mickey said as Ian was laughing on the other end.

“I swear, some of the things you say.  And what kind of music would you like?”

“I won’t complain if you play some Metallica every once in a while, really piss off Emily.”

“I got one better.”

 

Before Mickey could say anything, he heard Bye Bye Bye.

“Oh hell no, you’re not playing those five faggots.”

“Fuck you, Justin is hot.”

“That mommy’s boy?  Fuck no.  If anyone is hot in the band, it’s JC, fuck you very much.”

“That’s why Justin has a solo career, an actor and is worth billions of dollars.  Where is JC?  Oh yeah, he’s some judge at a stupid talent show,” Ian said as Mickey was mocking him.

“JC is a better singer.”

“It’s either N*Sync or Michael Bolton?  I don’t have to listen to it for the next two hours.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Wanna try me?”

“Fuck, fine.  Faggot Justin wins,” Mickey said as Ian was clapping.  “You’re that bored at your apartment, you have to torture me at my work?”

“But I have no one to talk to.  My best friend is too busy ‘working.’”

“Whose fault is that?  You were the one who wanted me to work with the little shit.”

“I know, but I needed you to train.  There are going to be a lot more changes to the store.”

“Like what?”

“You’ll see.  Enjoy your boy bands heaven.”

 

Before Mickey could say anything, Ian hung up.  After mentally cussing Ian out, he went back to his desk, and tried to ignore everyone around him.  As he was staring at his computer, he couldn’t help but sing along to the song.  When he looked up, he noticed Lizzy was staring at him with a strange look.

“What the fuck you staring at?”

“Nothing.” She said, as she was trying to find something to do.

 

***

 

When it was finally time to close, Mickey made sure Trevor put in the alarm and made sure he locked the door.  After a few arguments, they parted to their cars.  Mickey clung to his jacket as he could feel the blistering cold of winter settling in his bones.  He clung to his jacket with his hands in his pockets as he walked to his car.  He could see Lizzy was walking away from the parking lot and was putting on her headphones.

“Lizzy,” Mickey said.   Lizzy looked over.  “Are you walking?”

“I only live two blocks away,” She said.  “Besides, it’s not that cold.”

“Shut the fuck up and get over here,” Mickey said.  “I’m driving you home.”

“But I live in southside.” Lizzy said, confused.  Mickey was pretending to be shocked.

“Considering we work in a pharmacy on the southside.  I kinda figured.  Now, get in the fucking car before my nice side wears off.”

 

Mickey ignored Lizzy mumbling how he said he had a nice side as he got in the car.  He looked in his rearview mirror to see she was walking up as he started the car.  He immediately turned on the heat and made sure the car was unlocked as she opened the door.  She got in the car and looked at Mickey.  She nodded as he put the car in drive and he headed out of the parking lot.

“So, which way do I go?” Mickey asked.

“Can you make a right?” Lizzy asked.  Mickey nodded as he made a right.  “Thank you for doing this.”

“No problem,” Mickey said.  “It’s too cold for this shit?”

 

Lizzy continued to give him directions as Mickey followed.  She watched him like he was a ticking bomb.

“I thought you said you lived two blocks away?” Mickey asked.

“I do. Two blocks from the L,” Lizzy said as Mickey scoffed.

“You live in the same apartment building as Mandy and me.”

“Interesting.  I live there with my boyfriend.” Lizzy said, feeling awkward.  Mickey nodded.  “So, why were you an asshole to Dr Trevor but nice to me?”

“Trevor is the laziest pharmacist I have ever dealt with.  When there is work to be done, he will become an asshole about it and demand the techs to do all the work.  That is something I won’t go with.   I will help the people who are trying but not the people who won’t.”

“I see.  And I thought it was because you’re gay.” Lizzy laughed as Mickey stopped the car.

“Who told you I was gay?”

“You just did.  I was guessing you were, but based on the red in your cheeks and the way you stopped your car, I was right.” Mickey continued to drive as he stared and tried to collect himself.  “But if it’s a secret, I can keep it, it’s no problem.”

“No, it’s not a secret.  I’m just surprised that you figured it out.  Ian, Carl, and Mandy are the only people at work who know.  Not even Clar knows.”

“How can no one else figure that out?   You look at Ian all the time like you wanna jump in his bones.  I always thought you three had a bit of an love triangle going.”

“Me and Ian are just best friends.”

“The way you two talk to eachother?  You guys bicker like an old married couple.”

“Well, we used to date, but we decided to remain friends.”

“You both are idiots.  But I get things happen.”

“Mandy was saying the samething.” Mickey laughed.  “How do you like working for the pharmacy?”

“It’s a bit of a challenge but I’ll get it.”

 

Mickey nodded as he got closer to their apartment building. He stopped in front of the building to let her out.

“Thanks again for the ride.   I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” Lizzy said, getting out of the car.

“I’ll see you.”

“Hey, Mickey.”  Mickey looked at Lizzy, waiting for her to say something.  “I don’t know what happened between you two, but I hope you two become a couple soon.  There’s too much chemistry between you two for you guys to be best friends only.”

 

Mickey nodded as Lizzy turned to head in the building.  Mickey thought about her words as he parked the car and headed into the apartment building.  He headed in his apartment and noticed Mandy was watching tv in their livingroom, asleep.  He put a blanket on her before he headed to his own bed. 

When he got in his room, he stripped into his boxers before he climbed into bed.  He thought about what Lizzy said as he drifted to sleep with Ian on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a long time but I finally finished this chapter. I have been working on other stories, I have put this on the back burner but I will keep updating when I can.   
> With the N*Sync, I prefer Jc over Justin (I know, it's hard to think like this but it's true). Also, I quoted Michael Bolton because that song has been playing over and over at work so I thought to torture Mickey with the song as well. My boss does do a lot of work from home and we can see on his work computer so I made up the part where he adds the music and control it at work. I thought you guys would enjoy the laugh. I'm having fun messing with them as best friends and it's slow but I promise you won't be disappointed.
> 
> I wanna thank you for the comments, kudos, bookmarks, and just by reading this story. 
> 
> The songs that have influenced me was Linger by the Cranberries, "Tell me how am I supposed to live without you" by Michael Bolton, and "Bye Bye bye" by N*Sync.


	6. 6*6=60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I don't know what happened but archive decided to post chapter 5 twice. So, this is a new chapter. I apologize that I didn't see this sooner. But I hope you like this new chapter

Mickey walked into the pharmacy like a zombie.  Though he slept for eight hours, he hated mornings.  It also didn’t help that he forgot his coffee because he was fighting the urge to go back to sleep.  He was debating about stopping somewhere that morning, but then he remembered Ian bought a new coffee maker at work, so he could make himself some coffee.

When he came in, the store was still dark.  He saw there were customers waiting for the store to open.  He never understood why people would stand outside in the cold Chicago mornings, waiting for a drug store to open.  Instead of confusing himself with wondering about the people, he walked in the store.

As he walked to the back of the store, he saw Ian and Fiona working.  It wasn’t abnormal to see Ian working so early, but Fiona rarely ever comes early in the morning.  Normally, she’s busy with her apartments to be coming in so early.  Instead of Mickey questioning, he shrugged and headed to the back.

When he got to his desk, he turned on his computer.  He saw Fiona was checking prescriptions.   He found it strange that Clar wasn’t there.  Usually, she would come in with Ian and they would work together.  But this time, it was Fiona.

“Good morning, Mick.  How are you?” Fiona said.  Mickey looked at her and grunted.  “Uh oh, somebody needs coffee.”

 

Fiona pointed at the breakroom and Mickey went to go make coffee.  When he came back, he inhaled the sweet scent of the black coffee.  Though the coffee was a little hot for him, he still basked in the smell of the amazing drink.

“Can we form words now, caveman?”  Mickey flipped her off as he took a drink.  “Sounds like you’re starting to be normal Mickey.”

“Why the fuck are you so damn chipper in the morning?”

“Steve and I were up all night.  One of the amazing tenants we had decided to OD in their apartment, so we had to wait for the paramedics to be through.”

“Did they survive?”

“God, I hope not.  I will find out this afternoon.”

“So, this is a one time thing?  You being here in the mornings?”

“No.  Clar is on vacation.   I offered to help open so I can talk Ian into letting me open the store.  It’ll give Ian a chance to relax more and I could focus on my apartments more.”

“I understand.  He needs a break.”

“So, I was hoping you could help me.”

“How?”

“You have pool with him, just convince him.”

“I will see what I can do.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Fiona said, smiling.

 

Without warning, the lights were turned on.  Mickey immediately shut his eyes to let them adjust.  He slowly opened his eyes slowly as he could feel the headache forming.  When he could finally open his eyes, he saw Fiona laughing at him.  He flipped her off.

“Man, I don’t think I will ever get used to that,” Mickey said, picking up some labels to fill.

“I feel ya.  It kills my eyes all the time.”

“And you wanna work every morning?” Mickey said, smirking.   She flipped him off.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Fiona said with a smirk.  Mickey saluted her.

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

Mickey started filling prescriptions as he could see the other techs coming in.  He could see they had their breakfast with them and it pisses Mickey off.  Though they were allowed to eat, the techs would take advantage of the rule and take forever.  He saw a few of the techs were throwing away the bags, but one tech didn’t.  He looked at the clock and saw they were five minutes late.  He sighed because he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

As soon as they saw him, they immediately started working.  Mickey rolled his eyes as he went to his desk to run prescriptions.  From the corner of his eye, he could see Trevor coming in the store.  He rolled his eyes and continued working.

Frustrated on a prescription, he got up and headed to Fiona.  Fiona was answering the phone and checking medications.  He looked at Ian’s desk, but Ian wasn’t there.  When Fiona hung up the phone, she sighed and looked at Mickey.

“Are we still keeping tabs on how many times Mr Cobain called?  If so, we’re at four times and it’s not even nine am.  What’s up?”

“So, I have this prescription of mrs Morris.”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t she die?”

“Yea, two days ago.”

“That’s what I thought.  I’ll call the person up and tell them.”

“Between you and me, we should contact the police since it’s a narcotic.”

“I feel the same.  Where is Ian?”

“Trevor came in a half hour early to discuss something with Ian.”

“About what?”

“Who the hell knows.”

“What do you think about Trevor?”

“I have nothing against him.  He is different than what this pharmacy is used to but he just needs some time to adjust.  I know you hate him.”

“he’s an asshole.  He called me the help.  I’m no one bitch.”

“Except for Ian’s.”  Mickey flipped her off.  “I get it.  But maybe when he gets comfortable, he’ll change.  I know I shouldn’t try to convince you because you hate everyone but maybe he needs another chance.  When I first met you in Lip's class, I hated you.  Then, when I saw how you care for Ian, I realized you weren’t that bad.  Your attitude hasn’t changed but still.”  Mickey nodded.  “He may surprise you.”

“I don’t give second chances.”

“You gave me one.”

“No, you, I went easy because I realized what you were trying to do so I couldn’t give you too much shit.   You were just trying to take care of the kids the best you could.  Technically, you should be made into a saint for caring for the kids, especially Lip.”

“Coming from the kid that bullied Lip.”

“Lip deserved it.”

“No comment.  But you need to be nicer to people, especially the techs.  Not everyone here is dumb, they’re just afraid.”

“They should be afraid of someone, so they know they shouldn’t act untouchable.”  


Fiona smiled and looked at the pharmacist window.  She saw Lizzy standing at the window, looking scared.  Fiona glanced at Mickey as she went to the window.

“Lizzy right?” Fiona asked.

“Right.”  She said.                    

“How can I help you?”

“So, I was horrible in school, but I know this isn’t right.”  She opened the bottle of medicine that had six pills in a pack and six packs.  “I know six times six isn’t sixty.”

 

Fiona sighed and took the bottle with the packs.  She glared at Mickey who was smirking at her.  She put the packs on the table.

“Theresa,” Fiona said.  Theresa was standing around, talking to the other techs.  “Theresa, I need you real quick.”  She stopped talking, rolled her eyes and faced Fiona.  “Can you explain this?”

“What?”

“There’s six pills in a pack and there’s six packs.  How many do you have?”

“Sixty.”

“Excuse me?”

“There’s six pills in a pack and there’s six packs, so there’s sixty pills.” Theresa said, looking at a stunned Fiona.

“Theresa,” Fiona said, using her thumb and forefinger to touch her nose.  “What is six times six?”

“Sixty,” Theresa said, as Mickey’s eyebrows were raised and he wiped his nose with his thumb.  Fiona lined the packs on the table.

“Theresa, I need you to count each pill in the pack and tell me where you get sixty.”  Fiona and Mickey watched as she counted the pills.  “So, Theresa, what have we figured out?”

“It’s not sixty.”

“So, how many were there?”

“thirty six.”

“Right.  So, how many more packs do we need?”  Fiona asked as Theresa pulled out her phone to put it in a calculator.  Fiona put her hand over Mickey's mouth to keep him from saying something smart.

“We need ten packs total.”

“And you have six, so how many more do you need?” Fiona said as Theresa counted on her fingers.

“Four more.”

“Good.  Now, fix this.”  Fiona handed her the packs and Theresa went to fix the medication.  Fiona shook her head as she looked at Mickey, taking her hand off of his mouth.  “It must be a bitch to always be right.”

“I knew she was stupid, but I didn’t know it was this bad.”

“Me either.  And I thought she was one of the smartest.” Fiona said, shaking her head.

“That’s the sad part.  Our cashiers are smarter than the techs.”  Mickey shook his head.  “Time to get back to work.”

“You mean, so you could come up with a good reason why you can’t make it to dinner on Sunday?”

“Oh, I know a reason.”

“And that is?”

“My last name isn’t Gallagher.”

“You’re going to have to do better than that.  You remember what happened last time, right?”

 

Mickey nodded as he headed back to his desk.  As Mickey headed back to his desk, he saw Ian and Trevor leaving the breakroom with a smirk on their faces.  Trevor’s hair looked disheveled and it took Mickey all his strength to not hit Trevor.  _You gave him up, that’s your fault.  I wish he was still mine, though._

As Mickey was working, he saw that Ian was heading in his direction.   He pretended to look busy so Ian wouldn’t want to bother him.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work like that.

“Hey, Mickey,” Ian said.

“What’s up?”

“I heard you gave Trevor a taste of an asshole you are.”

“That fucker deserved it.  I won’t help the assholes.  He can stand around to talk to the techs, he can check the medications.  There’s no excuse.”

“And I thought you just saved being an asshole for me.   I’m crushed,” Ian said in a mocking tone, putting a hand over his heart.  Mickey blushed.  “Such a slut.”

“Hey, there’s more of me to go around, princess.  I can share,” Mickey said as Ian laughed.

“Ok, Ok, you’re forgiven but only because I’m loving the twenty shades of pink on your cheeks right now.”

“Only twenty?  And I thought you would go for fifty.”

“I could, but I’ll save that behind closed doors.” Mickey and Ian laughed.  Mickey looked like he was ready to say something, but he couldn’t stop laughing.  “Are you busy right now?  I have something to show you?”

“Not really.  I was having fun proving your sister wrong.”

“Do I wanna know what happened?”

“Lets just say that six times six is sixty.”

“Ok, I have to know now.”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“How do you give me that kind of hint and not tell me more of what to say?”

“I know, the suspense is killing you, but I promise it will be worth it.  We hanging out tonight?”

“If you wanna deal with Franny.  I promise Debbie I would help with Frannie.”

“What is she doing?  Going drinking again?”

“She’s supposed to work tonight.”  Ian said, putting up air quotes.

“How can she work with two toes on the right side?”

“You should know by now not to ask questions when it comes to our families, especially when it doesn’t make sense.”

“Right.  Our families are too confusing, I swear.  So, what do you have to show me?”

“Follow me.”

 

Mickey followed Ian to the storage room.  Mickey hated going to the storage room sometimes because he must climb two flights of stairs.  It also doesn’t help that the stairs are narrow due to the supply belt taking up half the stairs.  When he was by himself, he would ride the belt, so he didn’t have to take the stairs.

When they got to the door to the supply room, Ian paused at the closed door.  He turned to Mickey, catching his breath.

“You remember the last time we were both up here?” Ian asked.

“Yeah, Emily thought she caught us stealing and was trying to get us fired.”

“Yea, but all you were doing was trying to calm me from my panic attack.”

“I remember.  That is one of the reasons why I hate her.”

“You hate everyone.”

“I can’t argue there, but her more.” Ian started laughing.

“I know she’s crazy, but that’s one of the reasons why I like her.”

“Right.  So, what do you want to show me.”

“Oh,” Ian said as he opened the door.  Mickey followed Ian from the first room to the second room.  He walked in the second room and looked at Mickey.  “What do you think?”

“I think the room smells like used diapers.”

“No… You’re not wrong, but no.  I was thinking of making this room into a meeting room.”

“A meeting room?”

“It gives me a chance to talk to people about bringing their products in to sell, I could have conferences with people in here and…”

“You’ll never leave this room because you want to escape the crazy that goes on downstairs?”

“Well, there’s that, too.  What do you think?  I was going to start construction on it soon.”

“Are you getting new floors?”

“Definitely.  I was also going to put in a bathroom and I’m putting in a tv.  I could also escape here when I feel a panic attack coming.  This room has always been my good luck charm.  What do you think?”

“I think this would be perfect.”

“You think so?”

“Yea.  We could get those comfortable chairs, so I can steal one when those stools kill my back.”

“Oh ha.  That’s not what they’re used for.  Besides, you won’t be able to see the computers and won’t get work done.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Mickey said as he playfully shoved him.  Ian playfully shoved him back.  “But seriously, I think this is an amazing idea.  Just don’t show Mandy because she’ll use it as a whore house.  Name it ‘rug n tug’ or some dumb shit like that.”

“You’re such an ass.”  Ian said, laughing.  “But I’m glad you like it.  Carl will hate me because we’re cleaning it out Saturday.  I’ll get him pizza and he’ll be fine.”

“I can help him, if he wants.  He’s always bitching about us not hanging out.”

“Are you just volunteering so you don’t have to deal with Trevor?”

“Hey man, it’s either me help Carl up here or the red dye in the snowballs have an interesting metallic taste to it.”

“I’ll tell Carl you’ll help him then."

"Ok, and just a warning, Fiona wants to open the store.  She says it'll help her with the apartments or some shit like that."

"No, it won't.  She's just worried that with all the stress, I start going manic."

"I say you let her do it for two weeks and see what happens."

"You got a point, ok."  Ian sighed.  "I’ll get Theresa to work saturday.”

“Yea, about her.  I think you need to fire her to give all the pharmacists peace.”

“You wanna get rid of everyone.”

“Well, our cashiers are smarter than her.  Fiona had to teach her what six times six is.”

“Oh god.”

 

Mickey laughed as he told Ian what happened.  Ian looked worried as Mickey laughed at his facial expression.  He looked around the room and remembered the last time they were in the room.

 

***

 

_Ian: 22_

_Mickey 23_

_Mickey was in the supply room, putting the diapers away.  He didn’t mind getting the diapers, so he didn’t have to deal with the people.  He was supposed to get help from the other stock guy but he disappeared and Mickey wasn’t in the mood to play babysitter._

_As he was putting a box away, he could see red hair coming in the room.  Before he could realize what was happening, Ian came bursting into the room, pacing._

_“Oh my god, I can’t do this.  I can’t do this.  I can’t do this.”  Ian started shouting as he was pacing._

_“Ian, what can’t you do?” Mickey said, putting the box down and stopped Ian from pacing._

_“School.  I’ll never become a pharmacist.  I suck at it.”_

_“Who told you that?”_

_“My teacher.  I failed a test.”_

_“So, you failed.  You'll do better later.”_

_“But what happens if I fail the class?  I will have to repeat, and I could lose my financial aid and I won’t be able to graduate.”_

_“Ian, calm down.  You have to take school one day at a time.”_

_“That’s easy for you to say you’re not in school.”  Ian said, then realized what he said and hugged Mickey.  “I’m so sorry.  I never meant that.”_

_“I’m not offended.  School isn’t for me.  But you have something good going for you.  You have a chance of not being one of the asshole southside people we know.  You’ll make it.”_

_“Thanks, Mick.” Ian said, breaking the hug.  “I needed that.”_

_“Anytime,” Mickey said, kissing Ian’s forehead._

_“It’s just all overwhelming.”_

_“I can believe it, but I can help you.”_

_“If you want.”  Ian said, holding Mickey’s shoulders.  “Hey, why don’t you become a pharmacist with me?”_

_“What?  Ian, get real.  There’s no way I will be able to do it.”_

_“Says who?”_

_“I’m fucked for life.   I can’t afford that shit.”_

_“You’re smarter than half of the people in the pharmacy and you haven’t even worked in the pharmacy.  You could do it.  You know all of the pills,”_

_“The narcotics, but only because I have taken half of them.”_

_“I think you will be bad ass with it.  Clar and Dr Nigel agrees with me.”_

_“You guys have been talking about me?”_

_“Of course.  We all see potential in you.  Mandy is signing up, you should too.”_

_“I’ll think about it, ok.  Now, I have work to do before Emily comes up and starts bitching.”_

_“It’s a shame about her.”_

_“What happened?”_

_“Her brother passed so she has been emotionally distant from everyone.”_

_“Oh yea, that’s right.  I’m trying to be nice,”_

_“You being nice?”_

_“Shut up.  Don’t you have work to do?”_

_“Yea, you’re right.”_

_“Ian,”_

_“Yea,”_

_“You’ll kick ass, I know you will.”_

_Mickey leaned closer and was ready to kiss Ian when he heard someone clearing their throat.  They looked at the door and saw Emily._

_“What are you boys doing?” Emily asked._

_“We’re putting the shipment away,” Mickey said._

_“You mean, you’re stealing the shipment.” Emily said, tapping her foot._

_“And what am I going to do with three cases of adult diapers?”_

_“I don’t know.  You might want to sell them on the black market.”_

_“What black market?   Half of the people that need these can’t even remember the last time their asses touched an actual toilet.”_

_“So, you are stealing.  I’m telling Dr Nigel and I’m going to get you fired.”_

_“Go ahead.”_

_Before Mickey could say anything else, Emily left.  Mickey could still feel his eyebrows near his hair line but he didn’t care.  Ian just watched him._

_“Hey, Ian,” Mickey said._

_“Yes?” Ian said._

_“Tell me more about tech school.  If this means I don’t have to work for Emily anymore, I’ll take it.”  Mickey saw Ian smile behind him.  “And wipe that shit grin off your face.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I apologize for the mixup. I'm not sure what happened, but I hope you loved this chapter.  
> The sad part about what happened with Theresa is real. We rehired this tech and she's not good at math at all. The cashiers are smarter than her. Also, the girl I based Emily on is hurting and is taking it out on the stock guys because her brother passed so accusing a stock guy of stealing diapers is real. And the pharmacist Trevor is based on does really write notes on what he doesn't like the other workers doing and goes to the owner in the morning to bitch. Nobody at the pharmacy likes him anymore.  
> Again, I wanna thank everyone who is leaving comments, bookmarking, leaving kudos, and even taking the time just to read this story. It means a lot
> 
> The songs I based on this chapter is "into the ocean" by blue october, and "shboom, shboom" by the crew cuts (this song was stuck in my head forever)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hospice is an home providing care for the elderly or the terminally ill. It basically means they take care of patients until they die. When someone dies, they have to inform the pharmacy and insurances.   
> When I say "make tamiflu" only certain pharmacies can compound the pills into liquid. The only I work at just happens to make that. Since we're the only pharmacy in our area that has tamiflu, we have joked that we should change our name to "Tamiflu Central"

Mickey spent the rest of the morning making liquid Tamiflu with Ian.  Since everyone was calling for it, they have been running out of it constantly.  He didn’t mind making it if he didn’t have to deal with Trevor.  He smiled when he glanced at Trevor glaring at him.

“So, how much do we have to make?” Mickey said.

“A lot.  Apparently, the other drug stores are having trouble getting this, so we need it.  There’s some new form of the flu going around.”

“’But I got the flu shot, I’m not supposed to get the flu.’” Mickey said, mocking.

“Shut the fuck up.  I’m so tired of hearing that and ‘I get sicker when I get the flu shot.’  There’s a million forms of the flu, it just stops some of the forms.  Everytime I hear that, I wanna slam their heads against the counter.”

“And I’m the violent one,” Mickey said with a smirk.

“I know, I have been hanging out with you too long.  Now, shut up and open the capsules.”

“So, how are you and Trevor?” Mickey asked, breaking the capsules and pouring it in the bowl.  Ian shrugged.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

 

Mickey nodded as he continued to work.  He saw Ian was eyeing Trevor as he continued to make Tamiflu.  Mickey could feel his chest getting heavy the more he worked with Ian.  _I wish Ian still wanted me._

When he was done, he went back to his desk.  He didn’t have any prescriptions to type since it was the slow part of the day.  He saw the techs were standing around, talking, so he decided to play on his phone.

While he was playing on his phone, he heard a man screaming from the registers.  He looked at the registers to see Dominick, an addict who picks up his mom’s prescriptions, screaming at Lizzy.  Mickey was watching as he was screaming at Lizzy for his mom’s prescriptions.

“What do you mean my mom’s name isn’t in the system?!  She has been coming here for years.  Do you even know what you’re doing?” Dominick said.

“I’m sorry, sir, but your mom isn’t in the system.  Why don’t you talk to the pharmacist?” Lizzy said.

“No, I don’t want to talk to the pharmacist, I need my mom’s medicine,” Dominick said, throwing a bag of cough drops at her arm.  “I need to speak to your manager.”

 

The moment Mickey watched him throw the cough drops, he put his phone down, and walked to Lizzy’s register.  He saw Lizzy was shaking and had to take a deep breath.

“Dominick, how can I help you?” Mickey said.

“This girl, who clearly has no clue what she is doing, is saying that my mom’s script isn’t in the system.”

“What was her name again?”

“Morris, Kelly.”

“Hospice called and said she died, so we had to cancel her out of the system.”

“She’s not dead.  Hospice is lying.”

“Then that’s hospice’s problem, not ours.”

“But I can’t get her inhaler in the mean time?  I’m out.”

“Your mom didn’t have an inhaler.  She had nothing but narcotics.”

“Yes, she did.”

“Maybe at another drug store, but not this one.”

“I can’t get any of her medications?”

“What part of no are you having a hard time understanding?”

“But my mom…”

“Your dead mother will be fine without her medications.  Now, you need to leave.”

“Fine, fuck this pharmacy.”

“Dominick, you have three seconds to leave before I show you what the Milkovich name means.  I let the reputation go, but I have no problem showing you how ghetto I can get.  If I ever hear that you were less than a gentleman to any of these girls down here, I will show you.  Are we clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good.  Now, get the hell out of here.”

 

Dominick clicked his teeth and looked like he was ready to fight until Mickey headed to him.  Then, Dominick took off.  Mickey took a deep breath and looked at the cashiers.  He could see Lizzy was shaking in rage.

“Mandy, I need to take a break.”  Lizzy said, wiping her mouth.

“I don’t blame you.  Go,” Mandy said.

 

She got her jacket and walked out of the pharmacy, Mickey following her.  When she was outside, she walked to the smoking section and instantly lit up.  He could see her shaking as he lit his cigarette.

“You ok?” Mickey asked.

“Just surprised myself.  You know you have self-control when you don’t beat the shit out of a guy who threw something at you.” Lizzy said, taking another drag.

“I know what you mean,” Mickey said.  “The old me would’ve jumped the counter and wouldn’t stop until the cops have dragged me away in handcuffs.”

“But thank you.” Lizzy said, looking at Mickey.  He shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it.  I know you ladies put up with a lot from the public, but that is one thing you shouldn’t have to deal with.”

“I swear, I couldn’t find her in the system.”

“I know.  Hospice called two days ago and told us she passed away.  When that happens, we have to pull their scripts and delete them from the system so assholes like him can’t still use their mother’s name to get their pills.”

“But he kept saying there was an inhaler.”

“There wasn’t.  It was all Oxy’s and Adderall’s.  Today, he was trying to pick up Xanax’s.  The prescription was dropped off this morning and I called his sister, his mother’s power of attorney, and told her.”

“What did she say?”

“She didn’t answer.”  Lizzy nodded.  “So, I left a voicemail.  Not my fault they don’t know how to pick up a phone.”

“I bet you she will call and bitch that no one called her.”

“See, you’re learning.  These customers make any excuse they can.”

 

Lizzy chuckled and nodded as she threw her cigarette butt.  He noticed she wasn’t shaking as bad anymore.

“You know, you won’t get in trouble for that.”

“But what happens if he calls to complain?”

“He’s an addict and he knew he was wrong.  He was having a temper tantrum, thinking we would crack.   But he knew better when I didn’t step down.  He won’t do shit.  They rarely complain about this shit.”

“You know, it took all of my powers not to hurt him.”

“I can see.  You have been shaking since that guy left.  He won’t be back.  You’re the first person who had something thrown at them here.”

“I feel so honored.”  Lizzy chuckled as Mickey laughed.  “I swear, I always attract the assholes.”

“You’re not the only one.  Mandy’s first year as a cashier, some guy threatened to pull her in an alley and kick her ass.  I jumped the counter and I don’t remember anything else until Ian pulled me off.”  Mickey chuckled at the memory.  “I thought I was going to be fired for sure, but Dr Nigel just told me not to let it happen again.  Then, he pulled me aside to tell me I did a good job.  Man, I miss that crazy old man.”

“I can believe it.  Clar has told me some crazy stories about him.”

“The old man was like a father to me and Ian.”

“Have you talked to him?”

“Last time I checked, he has a home in Myrtle Beach.  Ian, Mandy, and I were talking about seeing him down there sometime.”

“That would be awesome for you guys if you did.” Lizzy said as Mickey nodded.  “Ok, I think it’s time I need to get back inside.  The rest of the cashiers would be pissed if they don’t get their fifteen breaks.  Mandy is the only one who doesn’t need sixteen breaks.”

“Because Mandy used to be the only cashier that would work.  That one down there with the fakest dye job of blonde calls out every other week and takes a million breaks.”

“But yet, she asked me for money.”

“She already asked you for money?  She’s been asking everyone for money, even Ian.  I wish they could get rid of her.”

“Why haven’t they?”

“Clar won’t fire people because she wants to be everyone’s friend and Ian won’t do it because they don’t have enough to get rid of her.  I told him the next time she calls out, they need to warn her that if she does it again, they need a doctor’s note, or she’s fired.  But his excuse is she has so many friends.  I think he’s afraid that people will leave if she goes.”

“He should.  How long has she worked here?”

“For this store, I think twenty.  For the pharmacy, it was five years.  We used to have a tanning salon in that back corner and she was a cashier there.  When Dr Nigel got rid of it, he had to move her and since he had no room anywhere else, he chose to move her to the pharmacy.”

 

Lizzy nodded.  Mickey smiled as they headed to the pharmacy.  When they got to the pharmacy, Lizzy went back to her register, while Mickey went back to his desk.  Ian was by Mickey’s desk.  Mickey noticed Ian didn’t look happy.

“Hey,” Mickey said.  “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” Ian said, looking at the ground.  “I heard you almost kicked a guy’s ass.”

“He threw cough drops at one of the cashiers.  He’s lucky he’s still breathing.”

“Since when did you play security guard?”

“I always step in when these customers start running their mouths…”

“Other than Mandy, name me another cashier?”

“This one hit her with cough drops.  I had to intervene.”

“You still didn’t answer my question.” Ian said, looking Mickey in his eyes.

“Why are you being a dick?”

“Why are you lying to me?”

“I’m not lying to you.”

“Whatever.”

 

Ian headed up to his desk.  Mickey sighed and walked to Ian’s desk.  Ian sat down and wiped his eyes.  Mickey stood by the stairs.

“Care to tell me what’s going on?” Mickey asked.

“It’s nothing.  I think I feel a panic attack forming.” Ian said, looking down at his desk.

“Have you been sleeping?”

“Sleep?  What’s that?”

“I think you should take the rest of the afternoon off and sleep.”

“But I have so much…”

“And it can wait until tomorrow.  Right now, your health is a fuck ton more important than this.”

“But my phone…”

“It’s all nothing but a bunch of old ladies with nothing better to do than bitch about their medications.  The whole pharmacy can handle it and Trevor can get to work.”

“But what happens if you two starts fighting?”

“We can’t fight if I don’t talk to him.  I promise, we can handle the pharmacy area.  You need rest.”

“But what happens…”

“If anything major happens, I will be the first person to contact you.  Now, go get some rest.”

 

Ian nodded and put his jacket on.  He hugged Mickey.  Mickey could smell the soap that radiated Ian’s skin, and Mickey never wanted to let him go.

“You still coming over tonight?” Ian asked, letting go.

“If you want.  I can bring a pizza if you want.” Mickey said, trying to hide his disappointment.

“I was going to order Chinese food.  I figure since you paid last time, let me this time.”

“Ok, no argument there.”

“Wait.” Ian said, suddenly.

“What?”

“Today is Thursday, right?”

“Right?”

“And what time is it?”

“Two minutes until three thirty.  Why?”

“I can’t rest, I have to see my therapist.”

“You’re meds acting up?”

“No, just one of those stupid check ups she makes me go to.”

“I see.  Have fun.”

“Thanks, asshole.”

 

Ian smiled at Mickey and Mickey smiled back.  Mickey was ready to kiss Ian when Ian turned away and walked away. Mickey sighed, put his fingers through his hair, and went back to his desk.  All Mickey wanted was Ian, and in that moment, he realized he will never have Ian.

He lost his concentration when Mandy was staring at him.  She looked like she saw a ghost.

“The fuck you looking at?” Mickey asked.

“I need to talk to you, now.” Mandy said.

 

***

 

Ian sighed as he got in his car.  He felt like he was running a mile when all he did was look at Mickey.  He didn’t want to admit it to Mickey, but he was jealous of Lizzy.  Though he knew Mickey was gay, he didn’t like how nice Mickey was being to her.  Though she was a nice person, he didn’t want her to be close to Mickey.  He knew it was jealousy talking but he really wanted Mickey for himself. 

He snapped out of his thought when he heard his phone going off.  He checked his phone to see it was his therapist calling.  He saw the time and it was early.  He decided to answer.

“Hello,” Ian said.

“Ian, how are you?”  The therapist’s secretary said.

“I’m good.  I’m not late, am I?”

“No, this is a reminder that your appointment is tomorrow.  Remember, she couldn’t see you this Thursday?”

“Oh yea, that’s right.  I forgot so I was ready to go see her.  That’s fine.  Thank you for reminding me.”

“It's no problem.  See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.”

 

Ian hung up.  He smiled and started the car.  He drove back to his apartment with no problem and went inside.  He opened the door and threw his keys on the table by the door.  He shut the door and went to the bedroom to change.  He came back from his room, wearing his black sweats.  He sat on his couch, staring at his blank tv. 

He thought about Mickey.  If he could change one thing about their relationship, he would have all of Mickey.  The mess of being in a friendship was starting to bother him, but he was afraid of what Mickey would say.  He knew the only reason Mickey wanted to be around him was because of his disorder.  Though Mickey could walk away at any moment, he knew that Mickey just felt sorry for him, like everyone else.

As he was thinking of Mickey, he thought about how Mickey looks without his shirt on.   He thought about how his muscles were fit in his uniform as he could feel his cock coming to life.  He imagined Mickey’s perfect fingers gripping his cock like they used to.  He was never too gentle, but he never hurt Ian.  As Ian took out his cock, he imagined Mickey’s perfect lips sliding on his cock, like they used to.

He was just about to cum when he heard banging of his front door.  He thought it was Mickey, but the banging was heavy.  It sounded like the police were knocking for him.  He sprang up from the couch, put his cock away, and went for the door.

“Alright, alright.  Wait a minute, jesus.” Ian said.

 

He pulled the door open and saw Mickey standing in front of him.  Mickey was whiter than normal and looked like he was about to be sick.  Ian moved out of the way to let him in.

“Mickey, what is it?” Ian asked.

Mickey came in and looked at Ian as Ian slammed the door.

“Mickey, Mickey.  What’s wrong?”

“Terry could be getting out of prison,” Mickey said, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes!!! That is an interesting ending!  
> The part a guy came in and complained he couldn't get his mom's script was real but it was a woman. I made the person into a man so Mickey would step in. She wasn't the one who threw the cough drops but someone did throw cough drops at me. When I was done with her, the other customers were clapping for me. I had to take a cigarette break after that (I was trying to quit)  
> Again, I wanna thank everyone for the comments, kudos, bookmarks, and just taking the time to read my story. It means a lot.
> 
> The songs I was influenced by was "California Dreaming" By The Mamas and Papas, and "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran and Beyonce (that song reminds me of the boys)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *undusts the open sign* looks like this pharmacy is back for business

Ian stared at Mickey.  Mickey was standing in the livingroom, trying hard to not cry.  Ian reached for him and hugged him.  He could feel Mickey sobbing as he kissed Mickey’s forehead.

“I thought Terry was in there for murdering a gay kid,” Ian asked.

“He was.  He shouldn’t be making parole but somehow, the universe had to fuck me over and get him out early.  You know what this means?”

“Yes, I do.  We’ll figure something out.  You just…”

“Mandy and I will have to move to Mexico.”

“Not panic.” Ian said, looking down at Mickey’s eyes.  “We will figure out what to do next.  Worse, we find a way to get him back to prison.”

“We’ll have to kill him.  I can get my brothers to help.”

“I’ll get Carl to help, and Lip can help us dispose of the body.”

“How?  Isn’t he on the northside as some scientist geek?”

“He could help us get some acid or something to help dissolve his body, or some shit.”

“And you’re telling me not to panic?”

“Sorry, not used to hearing that.”

“The man has been in and out of prison since he was out of diapers.”

“Yea, but he murdered someone.”

“Yea, he murdered someone he thought was me.”

“I know,” Ian said, pulling his hair.  “I know.  I remember.  But we can do this.  We can do this.”

“All I need is to round my brothers and we’ll cut his fingers off and pull out his teeth so he can’t…”  Mickey said.

 

Before Mickey has a chance to say something, Ian grabbed his head so they were eye contact.

“Mickey, calm down.  It’s not one hundred percent he’s getting out.  He may just prove to his probation with his charm that he doesn’t deserve to get out.  Just, calm down.”

“No offense, Ian, but this isn’t about you.  This is my fight.  I don’t…”

“You came here, like you always do.  If anything happens, we will deal with it on our own.  I just need you to relax.  Ok?”

“Ok,” Mickey said, nodding.

“Good.  Now, I’m going to order some food and we’re going to watch tv like we always do.  Where is Mandy?”

“I think she’s still at work.  She was saying something about going to see her boyfriend after work.”

“Ok, I’ll call her in a little bit to make sure she’s ok.”

“Do you mind if I shower?” Mickey asked, trying not to look at Ian.

“Of course, man.  You can borrow some of my clothes, if you want,” Mickey nodded.  “You want your usual?”

 

Ian saw in Mickey’s face that he was having a hard time believing things would be well, but Mickey didn’t say anything.  Ian watched Mickey head to the bathroom as Ian pulled out his phone from his pocket.  He dialed their favorite Chinese place and placed delivery.

When he was done, he called Mandy.   After three rings, Mandy picked up.

“What’s up, boss? Mandy asked, sounding like she was chewing her food.

“How are you doing?” Ian asked.  Mandy snorted.

“I’m assuming you talked to Mickey.”

“yea, he is getting a shower now to calm down, but I wanted to make sure you were good.”

“I’m good, for now.  Tony is supposed to call me tomorrow, so he can tell me an exact date.”

“I thought Tony told you?”

“It wasn’t one hundred percent.  Probably shouldn’t have told Mickey until he was a hundred percent sure because I know Mickey is thinking of a thousand ways to murder Terry right now.”

“Yea, that would be a little helpful.  This is coming from the guy that tried to murder Frank because he caught us.”

“Well, forgive me, but I couldn’t help it.  I panicked.”

“Next time you hear anything about Terry that isn’t one hundred percent sure about, tell me first.”

“Ok, fine.  I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

 

Ian hung up the phone when he heard a knock at the door.  Assuming it was the food, he got up.  As he was heading to the door, he noticed Mickey was in his room, with his bare butt facing Ian.  Though he tried not to stare, he couldn’t help but watch Mickey putting on his shorts.

He didn’t realize he was staring for awhile until the banging of his door took him out of concentration.  After he paid the guy and got his food, Mickey came out of his room.  A little disappointed that Mickey was clothed, he put the food on his counter.

“Hey,” Mickey said.  “I heard you talked to Mandy.”

“Yea,” Ian said, going through the bag.  “She’s with her boyfriend right now.  She told me to tell you that she was going to call you when Tony gives her an answer.”  Mickey nodded.

“Iggy called when I got out of the shower.  He said that Terry was trying to get his case retried.  He was trying to find a lawyer that would help but no lawyer would help when there was someone in the closet when he murdered that kid.”

“That’s crazy.”

“And that’s not all.  Apparently, one of the parole guys was a client in one of his drug runs so that parole officer just happens to be in charge of Terry’s case…”

“Of course, he is.”  Ian said, getting two beers from the fridge while Mickey was getting forks.

“That’s what I said,” Mickey said, heading for Ian’s couch.

“What else did he say?” Ian said, sitting on the couch.

“Nothing else, really.  He’s not a chatty person sometimes.”  Ian nodded.  “I just hope Tony would be wrong.”

“I hope so too, man.”

“I don’t even feel like eating,” Mickey said putting his fork down.

“But it’s your favorite.  You’re turning down food now?  Even free food,” Ian said, watching Mickey closely.

“I know, but the smell of the food is making me want to puke.  And it don’t help that it looks like fucking puke.”

“So, when is the baby due?”.

“Fuck you, I just don’t wanna eat right now.”

“Fair enough.  I’ll give you a pass, but only for tonight.”

Ian chuckled but Mickey just glared at him.  Ian shrugged as he kept eating.  Trying to avoid the glares he’s getting from Mickey, he turned on the tv to distract them from the weight of Terry.  He glanced at Mickey and saw Mickey was staring at the tv.  It looked like he was watching something, just not the power box in front of him.  Ian squeezed his shoulders and he broke concentration.  Ian knew he was scared but he had to relax.

As he was watching tv, he heard his phone going off and grabbed it from his pocket.  He saw he got a text message, and when he unlocked his phone, he saw it was Trevor.  Ian locked his phone and put it in his pocket.  Mickey was more important than a lame booty call.  _I wish both of them would understand that._

 

***

 

Mickey woke up to the smell of pancakes. He sat up and remembered he wasn’t in his apartment.  He looked around and it took him a moment to remember he wasn’t in his apartment.  It was Ian’s.  He saw his favorite ginger running around the kitchen like he was Paula Dean.  Mickey was excited to smell the coffee that was pulling him off the couch.

When Mickey got to the kitchen, he got a coffee cup and started to pour.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Ian said as Mickey took a drink.

“I hate how much of a fucking morning person you are,” Mickey said.

“Good morning, grumps,” Ian said.  “Any news yet?”

“Nope,” Mickey said, shaking his head.  “Just hope it’s soon.  I don’t want to worry while at work.”

“Yea, you’re not going to work,” Ian said.

“But my boss would be mad and fucking fire me, man,” Mickey smirked.

“Well, your best friend talked to your boss and came to the agreement that you need some time to relax until we hear some answers because you will not be snapping at my employees.”

“But…”

“Shut the fuck up,” Ian said, making Mickey a plate.  “You need to relax.”

“But,” Mickey said, sitting down at the kitchen table.  “Work helps me relax.”

“So, I will tell Mandy to stay home, have Fiona and Llizzy the day off and you work.”

“Ok,” Mickey said, sighing.  “I will take the day off.  Only because I don’t need prison for that fucking fruitcake.”  Mickey slapped Ian on the shoulder as he sat down.  “And fuck you for taking away all the good workers.”

“Not my fault you’re a fucking workaholic.”

“Just for that, I’m looking for another fucking job on my time off.”

“Good luck trying to find another boss willing to deal with your shit.”

“Bitch, this pharmacy wouldn’t be able to run without me.”

“Um, that pharmacy has been there long before you came around and it will still be standing long after you’re gone.”

 

Mickey laughed as he watched Ian try to take a bite.  Ian laughed at Mickey as he almost choked.  Ignoring Mickey, Ian picked up the paper and started looking at the obituary section.

“It’s kinda morbid that you only read the paper for the obituary section.”

“I have to check to see which of our customers have passed.  We have too many people trying to get narcotics from their deceased relatives.  Mrs Morris is one of them.”

“Gotta point.”  Mickey said.  “We have any of our old customers who finally passed?”

“Nope, so far so good.” Ian said, putting the paper down.  He finished eating and then got up to put his dishes in the sink.  “I gotta get going.”

“Sure, man,”  Mickey said, as he got up to put his stuff in the sink.  He washed the dishes and put them in the strainer.  “I’ll see you, man.”

“You can stay, Mick,” Ian said.  “You know I don’t give a shit.”

“I know,” Mickey said.  “But I wanna go let some steam out.”

“Fair enough,” Ian said.  “See you later?”

“Sure.”

 

Before Ian could say anything else, Mickey was out the door.  Ian looked at the door, ready to kick himself for being an idiot. He wanted to stay with Mickey because Mickey needed him, but he also had to get to the pharmacy.  He took a deep breath and went into his room to change.

When Mickey left, he went straight to his car.  Instead of him driving to his apartment, he chose to see his friend, Brandon.

Brandon was a friend of the family who owned an rage room.  He opened one three blocks from Mickey’s childhood house.  When he was younger, Brandon opened the rage room so people could rent a room to smash anything they wanted.  He took donations for people to smash whatever they wanted and would allow people to listen to any kind of music they would like.

When he got there, he saw Brandon was sitting at his desk, looking at a computer.  He could hear Maury’s name chanted from the monitor so he assumed that Brandon was watching Maury.

“Look what the cat dragged in, a Milkovich,” Brandon said, still staring the computer as he laughed.  “I thought all of them would be in prison by now.”

“Not yet,” Mickey said, chuckling.  “But it’s only 930.”

“What can I do for you?” Brandon said, not looking up.

“I need to rent a room.  You heard what happened?”

“No, what?”

“Terry could be getting out.”

“How?  The man murdered a gay kid.  That’s a hate crime.”

“I don’t know yet, but I need to get somethings off my chest.”

“Of course, no one has came in yet so you’re welcomed to any room.  Just make sure you wear that white suit this time.”

“Why?”

“My girl has been on my ass about it.”

“D is still with you?  Man, she must have some low self esteem.”

“And when was the last time you had your dick wet?”

“I don’t know, ask your dad.  He has better gag reflexes than I thought.”

“Fuck off and go get a room before I change my mind, asshole,” Brandon said, laughing.

 

Mickey laughed as he walked down to the room.  He took a deep breath as he put on the white suit.  He tried not to smell the thing because he doesn’t want to think about who wore it last or when the last time Brandon washed it.

As he was putting it on, he noticed he got a call from Tony and answered it immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, sorry this is taking forever but writing after tragedies take forever. I hope you guys love it. I have missed writing this story when I deal with work, but it was hard to write what i needed to say so I apologize. I made this a cliff hanger to see who is still paying attention. You will find out after this chapter  
> Again, i wanna thank everyone for the comments, kudos, and just taking the time to read this. I mean it when I say that it means more to me than you will ever know
> 
> The songs I used for this chapter is "Pardon me" by incubus, and "Break stuff" by limp bizkit.


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